Mazes - Summer Hits

With a smattering amount of LPs, singles and mixtapes floating around their room of discography, Mazes are back with Summer Hits, the first track to be released in light of new album A Thousand Heys. It says goodbye to everything complicated in music today, and instead embraces the simplicity is key mindset for a 1:56 (or 1:55 if you’re listening to the radio edit, huh.) track that is indeed a hit of the summer.

Also, briefly taking you away from the review, frontman Jack Cooper has launched a new project, Jack Cooper Will Write You A Song For A Tenner, a completely mysterious title that should be pretty difficult to decipher. To be in with a shot of getting a song written about you, go onto their Facebook page or email the band your name, song name and address, and they will get in touch.

Single Summer Hits begins with a very light and sweet guitar riff, which is coated in the perfect amount of reverb to flood the brain with nostalgic memories of running around in the sunshine trying to find the ice cream man. The band prides itself on recording live and quickly, and it shows in the end results. The drums in particular sound like they are being played right next to you, as the recording captures every hit of the snare, and every crash of the cymbals, creating an optimistic atmosphere. All of the energy that was there at that time is still present with each listen, the vocals from Cooper sound as if he himself is running towards the ice cream van and the rest of the instrumentation is his soundtrack, it’s lovely.

B-Side Bethesda is a slower tempo; increasingly low-fi track that sounds like it could have been performed on Top of the Pops in the late 60s. The low-fi aspect of the recording brings upon the tone and the mood that is only present in The Beatles, the sense of togetherness and strong musicianship is practically on-par with the Fab Four. The dual vocals compliment each other well and don’t become entirely bogged down by the muddiness within the mix, and are allowed to shine most during the breakdown of the track, which may have been shortened a little. Everything quickly falls back into place as the happy bounciness of the track returns once the breakdown has finished, and puts an end to a very strong single by Mazes. Summer Hits is indeed a hit and a track that should be played at every summer’s event this year and next, while Bethesda takes emotions to a different route but still leaves you feeling satisfied.

9/10