AZULO - Surreality - EP REVIEW

AZULO

Surreality

Delaware, United States

Azulo have started strong with their first EP Surreality. The collection of 5 songs brings forth flavours of passionate indie rock and chillwave music pulled together through melodramatic lyrics that fit the bill like a brass button. Azulo show off their tandem writing styles throughout Surreality, coming together vocally for a couple of the songs creating a sense of togetherness and honest creativity. The EP has also been released as a full instrumental which is a cool move and deserves your attention after devouring the main course.

We are coaxed into the EP with, ‘Merry-Go-Round’. The song is a soft hitter that makes efficient use of muted percussion and piano to provide a breathing backing track that keeps the melody locked in place. Cutting through the fog are pulses of electric guitar and higher piano sections that sit on either side of the contemporary vocals. The whole thing comes together like a dream. It's soft and hard all at once, the textures are warm and muted but the pulsing drums and the clean vocal bring it back to reality. It feels incredibly indie and also like it could be from a mainstream studio. A great open, introducing us to the storytelling lyrical style and the instrumental support that will become a mainstay throughout Surreality. It certainly leaves you wanting more. On that note…

‘Waiting Room’. Yano all that stuff I said about the soft sounds and textures of ‘Merry-Go-Round’? Chuck all that out. ‘Waiting Room’ blasts open with punchy rock guitar and drums that drill out rhythmic bursts of attitude. The verse is palm-muted and adds to the crunchy texture that creates a vast contrast between this song and the previous. Azulo are trying to catch our attention and they are succeeding, showing off two mirrored styles, both rooted firmly in indie rock in just two songs. The vocals have shifted too, with the lower set vocal taking centre stage and the higher supporting through harmonies and frills. The song itself is brilliant; upbeat, catchy and experimental. You won’t get out of this one scot-free, not with that clav in the back - da dum da dum da dum da dudahdah!

No stop for the wicked, ‘The Glass’ is up next opening like a Tame Impala track but shifting into the cooler Azulo vibe pretty quick. The song builds on the textures and stylings of ‘Waiting Room’ with its bitty percussion and punk guitar. The instrument choice is never boring with an accordion-like sound bringing the backing to life and making sure nothing sounds static even for a moment. The chorus is huge, thickened through harmonies and pads. Strings adorn the following verses and the whole song shines.

‘The Walk’ adds a funky vibe to Surreality. Its piano-bass combo smacks hard and it smacks right. The vocal melody is catchy and it's a surefire toe-tapper. The Azulo sounds slowly creep in and it's a vibe that I’m certainly here for, especially with that off-beat chord progression on the guitar. The EP is full of tiny sparkles here and there that can only live through extensive attention to detail. The accordion-type sound, the off-beat backing, the string pads in ‘The Glass’. It all adds up and it equates to an EP that feels human and fresh. You can tell that Azulo care about the music that they produce together.

The last song on the EP is ‘Surreal’. It brings us right back full circle to that soft and open sound that started our journey through Surreality. With arpeggio synths and guitar plucks in the wind, both vocalists come together to sing us out and it is silken. I’m just waiting for the 7-minute edit of the song, it has a tone and texture you can easily get buried in. ‘Surreal’ is a fitting end to an EP that is full of musicality at its indie-finest.