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Reviewed by Finn McLennan-Elliott

Jimmy Hazelwood: Make It Better EP

Reviewed by Finn McLennan-Elliott

Jimmy Hazelwood: Make It Better EP

Following up his 2014 debut album ‘Paradiso’, Jimmy Hazelwood now brings us this walk through acoustic pop with touches of folk, and catchy choruses that quickly become singalongs. His raw and wavering voice comes to the fore on the title track. Off The Road is infectiously catchy, with minimal guitar surrounded by percussion and a fast moving melody line. He has stuck with his earlier album sound, however ‘Make It Better’ does point to a move further into pop, and away from acoustic or folk music, certainly with Undone and the Get Out While You Can remix. Falling Down is the highlight, with some tasteful slide guitar added by his dad, Dean Heazlewood of The Mockers‘ fame, and a chorus that perfectly fits Hazelwood’s vocal range and tone. Mostly self-recorded, a few of the tracks were produced and engineered by The Takeover, whose electronic remix of Get Out While You Can does bring the EP to a slightly odd close, being placed alongside the pleasantly acoustic elements of the rest.