The recording moniker of the Los Angeles bedroom artist Hayden Waggener, Super Hit finds the multi-instrumentalist injecting much emotion into personal songcraft about his surroundings and travels. The music doesn’t worry too much about complexities, and instead uses both acoustic and electronic noise makers on this highly diverse third album.
“Spawn” gets the listen off to a very a warm start, where agile keys and a meditative mood glide with precision. “Arabesque” then buzzes with playful synth patterns that are as hypnotic as they are memorable.
Inching towards the middle, “Sunrise” uses drumming strategically, where some well-placed strings and strong attention to mood are appreciated, while the title track recruits a more noticeable orchestral influence amid the smooth, eloquent singing.
Deeper into the listen, “Three Seas” is textured with a bit of mystery and sci-fi-like noises amid the cello, and “In Your Dreams, A Fone Call” is calming electronica that’s full of spoken word in the dreamy climate.
The final two tracks are “Hopscotch” and “Time And Time Again.” The former relies on extra percussion in the more firm presence of artistic pop, and the latter exits intimately, with sophisticated piano present and glowing with maturity.
Waggener plays piano, guitars, bass, drums, synth and percussion and handles field recordings and vocals, too, with occasional help from Jude Tedaldi (cello, composition, arrangement), Dagger Polyester (vocals, lyrics, arrangement), Arius Zaiee (percussion), and Amelia Whitney (field recording). Together, they make for an unclassifiable but exciting journey that touches on art-rock, prog-pop, psychedelic stabs and eccentric electronica.
Super Hit finds a very unique place to reside in modern electronica and indie-rock, and these 9 tracks showcase much creativity and skill that will surely require repeated listens.
