Dazy – Otherbody

March 30, 2023 151

By – Kristi Houk

Recommended if you like: Militarie Gun, 2nd Grade, Teenage Fanclub, The Beatles, The db’s

I love you synth-pop, but damn, if I’m not ready for some good old guitar rock. Like, no song over 3 minutes long. If that long. As the weather warms up, I gravitate to crunchy licks and shredding solos. There’s something beautifully nostalgic about driving down an open road, beneath a sun-bleached sky, windows rolled down and the radio up as loud as it can go—maybe a little air guitar or air drumming on the steering wheel…

OTHERBODY, the new ep from James Goodson aka Dazy, is the perfect roadside companion. It’s a rare occasion when every song on a record could be a single. To my ears, only one record immediately comes to mind—The Beatles,’ Revolver. Speaking of, there are moments on OTHERBODY that are reminiscent of that 1966 masterpiece. Take the psych rock feel of “Peel” that could sit nicely alongside “Tomorrow Never Knows” with those warbly vocals and swirly guitars. Lyrics check that surrealist box, too:

“Overstimulated, underwhelmed. Zero hesitation, void it out. So peel just like a painted wall. Reveal nothing at all. Artificial love cascading down. Count it up, collected on the ground.”

I’m also a sucker for a hook-laden power-pop gem like “Always in Between”—the final track off OTHERBODY and two minutes of urgent, blissed-out vocal harmonies and chiming (slightly distorted) guitars a la the Paisley Underground (look it up).

“Weight on my mind. Sometimes it feels just fine.
Weight on my mind. Sometimes it feels alright.
Sometimes I barely breathe. I need a generator.
Hook it behind my teeth.
I need to generate. I’m always in between.”

I feel you, dude.

This is seasonally appropriate guitar pop. Act accordingly, by which I mean, turn it up.

Standout tracks: “ESTAO,” “Peel,” “Always in Between”

Written by: kristi houk

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