Hazlitt – ‘Battlecat’ [Review]
Opinion
One of London’s best-kept secrets, Hazlitt is an artist with a very unorthodox history. Following a decade-long stint as part of experi-punk outfit Tiger Force came Requiem For Little Bird – a complete 180-degree creative turn encompassing classical influences, lyrics in Latin, and a violin in place of her formerly treasured guitar. Since that gutsy debut Hazlitt has attracted a wide variety of followers, including eclectically inclined Strapping Young Lad frontman Devin Townsend, shared a stage with said legend, and thrown herself into a range of collaborative projects.
Battlecat – Hazlitt’s second solo album – has its own unconventional tale to tell. For the past year Battlecat has only been available to the people who paid for it to be made – an arrangement facilitated by crowdfunding platform Pledge Music, and necessitated by the destruction of Hazlitt’s home and studio in the 2011 London riots – but as of now it is up on Bandcamp to be enjoyed by the rest of the music-loving world. I’ve lived with this album for twelve months, and it still sounds as fresh and invigorating as it did on that hotly-anticipated first listen.
An elegantly cinematic blend of classical nous, solid rock rhythm work, and epically ethereal vocals, Battlecat is the kind of luxurious listening experience that is only made possible when talent, glamour-free hard work, and unstoppable passion replace the exhaustedly clichéd terms ‘blood, sweat, and tears’. Clichés might be fine for clichéd music, but this is not that.
Listen, and see what I mean.
Links
Hazlitt on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hazlittmusic
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