Music Review: “Just Give In/Never Going Home” by Hazel English

Somewhat ironically, Hazel English is an Australian Indie musician. Her double EP “Just give in/Never Going Home” is everything you could ask an Indie album to give you aesthetically. It has the soft sounding Indie pop vibes of bands Beach House & Best Coast. The whole album emanates Best Coast’s song “California Nights” from their 2015 album of the same name. If this album sounds like Day Wave, that can be attributed to Jackson Phillips who contributed to the “Just give in” portion of the double EP.

From a land down under, English is currently based out of Oakland California, the same as Philips. The soundscape is alluring; I found myself wanting to live inside the sound of “Other lives” and “Never Going Home”. Perhaps it’s the dream-pop style of her instruments or the calming emptiness that comes after the lyrics. I may be slightly biased because she liked one of my tweets, but I found the album delightful. It may lack a diversity in style, or sound one may want for a record, but it provides a simple monotone expression, which isn’t detrimental. English offers a listening experience that can fit in a diverse range of situations. It’s pretty good.