Andrew DuncanKazyak
Reflection
Independent
★★★★
It is due time that Kazyak break free of the EP construction and compose a deeper musical portfolio. Reflection, their first full length, is their moment. Each song creates aural landscape paintings that saturate their own mental dynamics. Songwriter and guitarist Peter Frey calls it a Dali-esque experience, emitting out of a trip to Chile and Argentina.
“Our Daydream” strums a wayfaring journey of acoustic folk with a walkabout of estranged time beats. The song is a journey as ephemeral as the notes that ring out. The band crafts time signatures that roam the valleys between the psychedelic peaks of “First Do No Harm” and shimmering out of this world electricity of “Talking to a Stranger.”
Kazyak – First Do No Harm
I like how each song is more of a chapter in this surreal journey. “Quicksand” does not sound like “Belmonte” and in this moment there is a moment of self within the blurring effects of simply being. “Belmonte” exists as one of the more experimental. Kazyak displays an elegance within this musical estrangement. Subtle keys reverberate in the heat of desert strums that it allows our ears to play tricks on us and our minds to push imagination further.
No matter what this band explores there is a sense of belonging. We as listeners feel like we have been to these places but are discovering anew with invigorating gaze. What is amazing about this album is that the songs are surprisingly taken from outtakes, b-sides and demos. After listening to a visionist celebration as Reflection, it’s perplexing to believe its foundation. Reflection is a beautiful accomplishment.