News

Dazy - the Richmond, VA-based project of James Goodson - surprise released a new EP, Bad Penny, earlier this week via Lame-O Records.

Since the 2022 release of Dazy's acclaimed debut album, OUTOFBODY, James Goodson has been charting an unconventional path and expanding his sound in exciting new directions through a steady release of singles, EPs, and collaborations. Bad Penny continues this hot streak, although calling it an EP might be a bit of an arbitrary designation: clocking in at just shy of 22 minutes, Bad Penny is only three minutes shorter than OUTOFBODY, and is crafted with the cohesion and obsessive attention to detail that defines Dazy.

At times the EP sounds like a transmission from an alternate reality where Noel Gallagher leads Gorillaz instead of Damon Albarn, with melodies as big and bold as they come and the inventive production packed with manipulated sounds and head-bobbing loops. Tracks like "Straight 2 You," "Bull Around The Porcelain," and "Silly Me" blend the thump of drum machines and primitive Casio SK-1 samples with blown-out guitars and distortion-smeared vocal harmonies. Mid-EP standout "I Don't Wanna Think About The Money" might just be the best pop tune Dazy has ever penned, a cut of sample-driven big beat reimagined as heart-on-the-sleeve indie rock; elsewhere "Half Truth" and "Delusions of..." hew closer to the concise overdriven alt rock of OUTOFBODY--save for the breakbeats and streaks of TB-303 that instead sound like The Chemical Brothers crashing a Sugar show.