Hazel English - Wake Up! // Limited to 300 'White-Red-White' & 500 White Vinyl LP's

RIYL: Vivian Girls, Yumi Zouma, Alvvays, Widowspeak

Label: Polyvinyl

After a double EP release in 2016, Hazel English has officially released a full length LP, on pre-order that is. With her crystal clear vocals and jangly beach pop sound, she has blissfully encapsulated an infectious array of tunes to tickle your ear drums, if you like that sort of thing. Heavily influenced by the dreaminess of the mythological 60’s pop sound, Hazel provides her own take with compelling and candid lyrics that tackle themes not usually associated with upbeat dream pop. It’s like she woke up from a time machine in today’s society and decided to sing about it, and all of its transparent glory that wasn’t around in the 60’s. Both singles are smile provoking and lovely, so grab an exclusive copy wherever you’d like, listed below.

Here is a little about Hazel:

An open sufferer of anxiety, English wrote the record following something of an existential crisis. Stuck and isolated, she felt like life was becoming a series of mundane objectives. She began asking herself: “am I happy? Do I like the direction I’m going in life? Am I engaged with my community? Do I feel connected to others?” English realised that the answers to all these questions were, for her, resounding nos. The album’s title became a kind of personal mantra to her – “a reminder to wake up and be present in a time where we are used to switching off and looking for constant entertainment,” she says. “[‘Wake UP!] will mean something different to everyone. Like, oh yeah, I’ve been sleeping on this goal of mine, or I need to spend more time with my kids. It’s for whatever people need to confront.”

Obsessing over old movies and vintage clothing since the age of 15, English took cues from surrealism, dadaism and the writings of sci-fi novelist Philip K. Dick for the record. She wrote words before she became a musician – before a student exchange programme prompted her San Francisco move, English was studying creative writing in Melbourne and writing poetry prolifically. After reading Guy Debord’s 1967 book The Society of the Spectacle, English began pondering our obsession with self-image. In it, Debord considers how we get caught up in the ‘spectacle’: How am I perceived by others? How can I make it seem like I’m successful? English draws parallels from the ‘60s text with our social media-crazed present as “essentially creating a fabricated version of yourself and making sure it seems like you’re living this amazing life. It’s not a true experience. That just makes us unhappy, I think.” – Polyvinyl

The Details

Rough Trade Exclusive
White / Red / White Vinyl
Limited to 300 copies
Limited Coloured Vinyl.

Polyvinyl Exclusive:
Early Bird Vinyl + Digital
White, Limited to 500.
First Pressing.
Polyvinyl Exclusive.
Gatefold Jacket.

Not Limited from Polyvinyl:
LP - Clear Red Vinyl

Release: April 24, 2020

Additional Images

Price $22