Sweden-based, Australian-born indie-folk singer Hazlett has released his new album, last night you said you missed me.
Boasting over a quarter of a billion streams on Spotify, Hazlett has spent the past few years living in Sweden and carving himself a niche with his music, appearing on popular playlists such as “New Music Friday,” “Autumn Acoustics,” and “Cafe Croissant,” as well as having his music appear on prime time shows like Grey’s Anatomy and The Good Doctor.
Having moved from being a bass player, moving back to Australia, quitting music altogether, and spending a few years working at an ad agency, Hazlett has been through the mill in his journey to becoming a successful musician. Since his debut album Bloom Mountain was released in 2023, things seem to have really turned a corner for Hazlett.
His first full-length release since last year’s Goodbye to the Valley Low, Hazlett has since appeared at BST Hyde Park in the UK, undertaken a headline North American tour, and taken his sound to new, stripped-back places.
Short and sweet, last night you said you missed me is a 10-track, 36-minute-long LP full of sweet, echoing vocals and acoustic guitar.
According to Hazlett, the album is “a little different, which I know is cliche to say, but it’s true. I think it would be easier to say after all these years that I’ve found my sound and that’s where I’ll stay. But I think there’s a lack of authenticity in staying the same. When I started this whole thing, I wanted anyone who starts to listen to feel like they’re part of this thing with me. Growing, trying, and finding pieces of ourselves along the way.”
Even if the sounds featured on last night you said you missed me aren’t here to stay, it’s clearly a space Hazlett feels comfortable occupying
The tracks are deeply reminiscent of Bon Iver’s heyday, capturing that same aching, searching sensibility that resonates to the core of any listener. This style is used most effectively on “queen of the season,” where the syncopated melody is joined by blurring steel guitar and Hazlett’s heartbroken calls of “ooh-ooh”, almost like a wandering ghost searching for a lost love. Then, all too suddenly, it ends.
This ghostly mood shifts on the track “fast like you”. The vocals are as gossamer-thin as ever, but the guitar is more grounded as Hazlett takes up a finger-picked style–less a wandering ghost and more a person coming to terms with having lost something.
My personal favourite track, “tell me something”, opens up with sad-sounding slide guitar before Hazlett sings: “I need you more than you know/dreamweaver your fortune keeper/call me when you get back home.”
The song is deeply yearning, much like the rest of the album, but this one has more of a sense of missing someone you know should be yours, instead of wanting something you might have never had. It’s heartbreaking as Hazlett laments, “I want it back/and I want it bad/I want it back/and I want it bad”. It’s also the third most-streamed song on the album so far, so it’s clearly hitting home with many people.
Hitting home is kind of the main pull throughout last night you said you missed me; Hazlett is speaking to a feeling that’s familiar with many people. He captures the aching, wistful longing that it seems everyone goes through at least once, and wraps it in warm, worn acoustic textures that can (and do) have mass appeal.
This is true even on tracks like the title track “last night you said you missed me,” which is upbeat in tone only–the lyrical mood is as sad as ever, singing “there’s ghosts in every corner/you won’t see ‘em ‘til you’re older.”
He even manages it without words, on the (almost) instrumental track “february,” where the only vocal contributions are Hazlett’s vocal harmonies for the first two-thirds of the track before the lyrics make a last-minute appearance.
Another particular standout track is the album’s closing track, “lasso song.” The track features a gentle rhythm reminiscent of bobbing ocean waves, as well as soft background bass and more slide guitar.
Hazlett’s vocals are clearer on this track than on any of the others, even with the echo effect present throughout the rest of the album. They’re sweet and gentle, providing a natural, satisfying conclusion that rounds out the album’s overall emotional arc
Some may view Hazlett’s third album as “samey,” but it instead feels remarkably consistent and cohesive. This album maintains a consistent sound, perfectly suited for the colder months and the wistful emotions they often evoke.
