Raquel Dalarossa
The cover art for Edward Vanzet’s Everyday EP depicts, in clay form, a little guy apparently melting right into the ground he’s resting upon. With his slightly slack-jawed face still intact and gazing upwards at the sky, it looks like he’s floating in his own self, encircled by a few scattered trees and pebbles. It’s a rather perfect and playful complement to the EP’s four breezy and meditative indie-pop tracks which will leave you similarly blissfully dazed in no time.
The well-designed cover comes at no surprise given Vanzet’s work as a visual artist. It would seem the Melbourne-based multi-instrumentalist carries creativity in his blood, given his brother is also a musician (known as Thrupence) and graphic designer. But Edward’s solo venture sees him gaining an enthusiastic and fast-growing following that will likely start rivaling his older brother’s very soon.
Everyday is Vanzet’s second release, following his debut in 2014 with Lichen, and both were entirely written, performed, and recorded by Vanzet. His breakthrough track “Lichen” is a folksy instrumental tune boosted by a clapping beat that hints at electronic pop, but which Vanzet recorded himself, giving the song an overall analog, lo-fi touch. On Everyday, his songs take on a distinctly chillwave aesthetic, combining his Bibio-esque inclinations with something more akin to Washed Out.
The title track leans towards EDM with its vibrant, escalating beat and repetitious lyrics, but Vanzet applies a heavy, hazy glaze over it all to give it an ultra-mellow and dreamy feel—it’s the kind of song that’s made for a daytime rooftop party. “Fat Man’s Theme” is a woozy, bluesy interlude, while “In The City” is an acoustic guitar-led lullabye about loneliness. Closing track “I Wish It Were True” is the real highlight, though, that combines all of Vanzet’s talent into one six minute-long showcase. The track weaves electric bass and guitar licks with afro-tropical percussion, but also takes a pause in its middle to introduce sleepy acoustic guitar riffs before tying it all together in the last minute.
It’s clear Vanzet has myriad capabilities in his arsenal—from one song to the next, you might find him swinging elements of folk, blues, psychedelia, or all of the above. With Everyday, he shows off his particular knack for commandeering acoustic sounds to construct electronically-minded refrains that are both catchy and relaxed. It’s an ideal companion heading into spring and summer—the only drawback is that we don’t have more of it.