Following the first part of Goodbye to the Valley Low released in late 2023, Australian musician Hazlett releases its ‘Side B’ follow-up, bringing both EPs together to make a full-length album, out 4th October via Nettwerk.
Recorded in an off-grid cabin in the middle of Scandinavian nowhere, the first part of Hazlett’s Goodbye to the Valley Low was released towards the end of last year.
It’s a stripped-back collection of delicate indie-folk songs brimming with personal anecdotes told through the Sweden-based artist’s polished introspective songwriting, and produced by longtime collaborator Freddy Alexander.
It resonated with listeners everywhere and Hazlett was soon inspired to revisit the cabin, knowing there was more to explore. This new EP completes this project, six brand new songs, which together with the first EP, makes one cohesive album. The songs are once again exquisitely layered and the tracks are timeless, yet the musicality is richer, and Hazlett’s vocals soar across the 6 tracks. Out October 4th, vinyl fans will also be able to purchase Goodbye to the Valley Low on vinyl in its final form as a 12-track album.
Hazlett – ‘Truth be told there was never meant to be a Side B to Goodbye to the Valley Low. I actually wanted to move onto something else, but the more that I tried moving on from it the more I kept getting pulled back. I realised just how many deeper questions my time in the cabin had raised, I thought I had unpacked it all but there was more digging to be done and somewhere deeper to go with it all. If Side A was the curiosity of the cabin, then Side B is working through all the questions that it left behind.’
Opening with lead single ‘Bones Shake’, its haunting background of broken guitars and candid lyrics are grounds for a coming-of-age folk song, culminating in a thumping but ethereal chorus justifying the large space between home and somewhere, anywhere else. As Hazlett explains, ‘Whether it’s time or distance, sometimes the further you get away the clearer it all becomes to piece things together and make your comeback.’
With a similar theme of seeking distance and an ever-so-slight twang of country, ‘The First Train Home’ is delivered as softly as a lullaby, yet the lyrics come from a place deep in thought: ‘I’m nobody’s problem if I never go home… Can you come on over and just fill up the space?’ Also attempting to untangle complex emotions is ‘Do You Haunt Me’, a soft beat pulsing throughout the track as Hazlett’s crystal-clear vocals yearn for something certain among the haziness. And on the gently lilting ‘I’m Not Ready to Go’, there’s a darker and almost desperate air lyrically, despite the barely-there guitar strums – ‘I’m not ready to be done with my time… got too much to see.’
With standout track ‘Shiver’, its sweeping arrangement and gently philosophical lyrics delivered with a plaintive vocal sees the songwriter pondering over the difficulty of making the right choices in life – a feeling most of us can relate to. Hazlett describes it as ‘this tug-o-war in my head of how much control do I really have of my life? Do I have to be petrified of every decision I make? Or do I just say whatever will be will be and sit back? I think to some extent whatever path we take life has a funny way of taking us to our destination anyway.’
Closing out Goodbye to the Valley Low is the hypnotic ‘Old Salt’, with enthralling vocals delivering one more expansive set of harmonies, and bringing an end to a journey that has taken the best part of a year. This was never meant to be a two-sided project, but Hazlett acknowledges that sometimes the right time and the right place inspires more than what was bargained for, and embracing the unknown can ultimately be a good thing:
‘Even without consciously thinking about it, Scandinavia is where I’ve done all my growing up musically. And I think whenever we grow up, the place where we did it affects us more than we know. I’d say the main theme for both sides of the album are about learning myself and changing the thoughts I had, as well as the influence that time and place has on someone. I guess that’s why there is a Side A and a Side B.Time and place is all it takes. I’m very thankful that both came my way to make Goodbye to the Valley Low.’
2023 was a busy year for Hazlett, as he released his debut album Bloom Mountain to positive support from the likes of The Line of Best Fit and Atwood Magazine, having previously received acclaim from CLASH, NME and When The Horn Blows. Going on to support Wild Rivers and Josiah & The Bonnevilles across the UK and Europe, he ended the year by releasing the first part of Goodbye to the Valley Low. This year is also shaping up to be a monumental one for the artist – with new music out and having opened shows for LANY, Calum Scott, Passenger and Ocie Elliott, Hazlett will be embarking on a lengthy run of headline shows across North America (as well as a stint supporting John Vincent III), the UK and Europe, some of which are already sold out.
