Nat Vazer’s Strange Adrenaline is so exceptional that you’ll instantly wanna share it
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06.10.2023

Nat Vazer’s Strange Adrenaline is so exceptional that you’ll instantly wanna share it

Nat Vazer Strange Adrenaline

“I saw her name on a Hollywood billboard/ she’s the girl with a thousand faces…”

Showstopping opening lyrics introduce both this album and its opener, Rumours, during which cello adds warmth. In fact, strings also used to spectacular effect – adding sinewy background texture and heart – throughout this entire record.

“Wish I knew you then/ But I was only a kid/ The rumours turned you into someone else” – such moreish lyricism! We’re already hooked, but then Benjamin Joel’s BV contribution – carefully shadowing Nat Vazer’s vocal line – adds to the intrigue. Although this song is about recurring trauma (“Something that you said/ Will probably hurt me ‘til I’m dead/ There’s a movie that’s never-ending and you’re in it”), its carefree, swaying pace and Vazer’s breathy, detached delivery camouflage sinister themes. 

 

Bob Dylan scores a mention during the title track. Then Vazer rhymes “park” with “Holy fuck”, which is unexpected yet utterly brilliant. “Do you even care anymore?” – this question posed within Maniac is so delicately put, but Vazer’s octave dive into the final syllable (“more”) highlights vulnerability.

Classy drumming drives 2am Diner, which contains an irresistibly tormented, chiming guitar solo. “But I can’t let you in/ Or he might suspect something” – cheating or the thrill of clandestine meet-ups? The listener’s lived experiences often colour how Vazer’s lyrics are received, which is kind of the mark of a great songwriter, right? “Did you know this whole time? Or did you just find out?” – a loaded lyrical query opens Born, which reminds us to take chances in life. 

Lively birdsong bookends Like A Burning Violin, with its flighty piano and lyrics unfurling like the protagonist’s internal dialogue in real time. Delicate piano playing echoes the melody of a heart-wrenching line within Fading From The Party – “There was once a window to her heart that I can’t open/ Anymore…” – underlining the hurt. Vazer’s vocals can sound so fragile, a hair’s breadth from broken. 

The dreamy Wilsons Prom, which evokes Lana Del Rey, features a whistling refrain that’s accredited to Robert Muinos – spectral and melancholy, too, à la John Lennon’s Jealous Guy. Lennon and Leonard Cohen score hat-tips during All That’s Left Is Love, with this song’s title also the final words sung by Vazer to close out her stunning second set.

Vazer has described Strange Adrenaline as a collection of “unique stories told through the people, places and memories that have shaken me and stayed with me over time”. She creates entire worlds through song and it’s transfixing, emotionally impactful stuff. Strange Adrenaline is so exceptional that you’ll instantly wanna share it with your discerning, music-loving mates.  

Label: Bendigo Records 
Release Date: 6 Oct