Album Review: Hazel English Will WAKE YOU UP!
Hazel English’s new record, Wake Up, feels like the beginning of female empowerment, rom-com films; you know the ones where Jennifer Lopez or Reese Witherspoon are trying to be lawyers, with no degrees, and, somehow, wind up winning a major case and marrying a mayor. Those films always start with the female lead dancing in her incredibly cute pj’s, making herself breakfast, and giddily getting ready for a day of passing around her resume. You may laugh at those “unrealistic” scenes of what women must go through to put their stamp on the world, but yet they are oddly charming and always hold songs that really do make us Wake Up, and Hazel English’s record feels exactly like that.
Hazel English – Combat (Lyric Video)
Vocally, English has a voice that stirs. She simply feels “up!” for lack of a better description. Even her saddest, emotional note, somehow, comes off brightened like, a woman that refuses to be torn down, even if “Love Is A Drug,” she can’t get a guy “Off My Mind,” and a life situation has left her “Shaking.” Her voice feels light like air but steams lyrics like the sun; making her totally elemental as she sings through tracks like, “Combat” and “Born Like.” With lyrics that are reflective, Wake Up is not just awakening in sound, but also in its delivery and core message: if the people or situations around you don’t make you feel like day, then that means you are placing yourself in their night.
For English, emotions have an undeniable, physical effect, which is totally true. I take naps when I’m angry and, unfortunately, do blush when I feel a crush. Thus, it is English’s ability to capture emotions as physical pangs through her melodies and verses that makes Wake Up feel like an opening, film sequence. Yet, even more intriguing, she plucks and picks as their setup of women trying to find a new life or their new happy. With this pandemic abound, this theme/ album will feel like a common good with its emotional common ground. Click Here To Buy Hazel English’s Wake Up On April 17.
