Heartbreaking Bravery

Since Monday, outstanding full streams from Space Mountain, The Veils, Vomitface, Lifer, Midnight Faces, Zula, Worse, The Wounded Kings, Psychic Heat, Massage, Saint Clementine, and Twist have all surfaced. In that baker’s dozen of releases, there’s a demonstration of the impressive range of quality material that this month alone has been producing. We’re living in an astonishing time for music and while not all of it’s visible, it’s still easily accessible. For example: Hazel English may not currently be the biggest name in music but the project’s most recent single, “I’m Fine”, ranks among the best understated pop songs of the year.

Making the deal even sweeter, the project’s offered up a gorgeous lyric clip to accompany the release of “I’m Fine” that was meticulously crafted using cut-outs of vintage issues of Life magazine. In that approach, “I’m Fine” gets the benefit of having an appreciative sense of history, which, in turn, winds up enlivening the entire affair. The song itself is an eloquently composed slice of muted basement pop, anchored by a frighteningly relatable sense of human longing.

From the warm synth beds to the imagery placement, there’s not a false note or move to be found anywhere in “I’m Fine”, which has an emotional resonance that’s impossible to ignore. Even with all of the ostensible anguish that drives the song’s narrative — and the wistful nostalgia that fuels the clip — as soon as it’s over, the only thing that seems to make sense is to go straight back to the beginning and experience every inch of “I’m Fine” all over again.

Watch “I’m Fine” below and pre-order Never Going Home here.