Jaz Dager - Light Tricks

​Jaz Dager

Light Tricks
​self-released; 2024

 TOP ALBUM

​​​By ​Dino DiMuro

Jaz Dager is a young English writer-performer about whom I know very little, and I find this frustrating because she may well be my new favorite artist! Apparently she plays keyboards and sings in a band called NIVMH as well as performing and releasing her own guitar-based rock music. Her brand new E.P. (of which she’s justly proud) is called Light Tricks.

The info I was sent is mostly descriptive text about Dager’s music: she’s inspired by indie folk, shoegaze and alternative metal, but “creates music that transcends genre.” Her songs are said to contain “sonic landscapes that mirror the ebb and flow of her feelings, creating a complex tapestry of emotions that her audience can connect with.” For myself Dager’s songs recall the dark melodicism of Radiohead with the raw power of Throwing Muses and the vocal dynamics of Tanya Donnelly. 

For the hard facts I had to investigate a few Instagram pages and videos. Dager sings and plays guitar, along with band members Kixle Pixel (guitar), Max Masterson (guitar), Daniel Wangusi (drums), ohnoitsnivmh (drums) and Harry Micklewright-Taylor (keys) who is also Dager’s “loving partner.” Guitarist Max Masterson is credited with co-producing and mastering, as well as crafting the incredible wall-of-guitars sound that anchors these songs.

From what I gather, these songs deal thematically with a dark patch of Dager’s recent life as well as her recovery. “This EP holds a lot of pain,” she writes. “Two years ago I couldn’t imagine ever being okay again. This isn’t to say I’m fully recovered, but I’ve at least learned to accept the ways in which I am broken. I have a long way to go, bit I am now firmly on the way.”

“Haunt” begins with literally haunting sounds from the keys, as Dager slowly builds the melodies with picked electric guitars, slightly muted and somewhat harmonic. Dager’s voice begins in a smooth lower register, then adds lush harmonies. Her voice stays right where it is as the full rock sound kicks in, which is a hell of a balancing act for the mixer! The drums have a live “roomy” feel which keeps the track from feeling “too” ethereal. By the end the guitars have almost overpowered the vocals. “Amantes” is one of the singles from the E.P. and at this point I’m noticing a similarity to Michelle Branch in vocals and music (I’m a fan, so shut up!). About a minute into the song, Dager switches to Spanish lyrics, which I do not understand but sound amazing. The guitars here and elsewhere have a high-end component similar to Belly. This a track I can easily float away with.

“Zenith” continues without a pause from “Amantes” with very similar composing and arranging, but taken another level higher in pitch and energy. Tumbling drums and picked guitars dominate the second verse, which Dager caps with a raw, very long vocal note. By this point in the album Dager’s voice does sometimes disappear beneath the musical onslaught but that’s not unusual for shoegaze or dreampop, and if she’s momentarily lost she quickly resurfaces. “Indifference” has more of a heavy metal basis with jagged rhythms and prominent keys. The chorus guitars are outrageously heavy. “Light Tricks” is the second single, yet another balancing act between Dager’s vocals and the huge guitars surrounding her. I love the gutiar riffs here, and Dager’s voice is like another instrument, the way Michael Stipe’s voice is sometimes described as the “bass sound” in R.E.M. The final track “Yearning” takes the opportunity to quiet down a bit so we can experience the full effect of Dager’s lovely vocals before yet another slamming chorus. 

I’ve played this album a few times and I still can’t get over its amazing mixture of sensitive emotions and all-out heaviness. I’m also a big fan of albums with a consistent sound (not as easy to achieve as you think). Dager’s created something amazing here and I can’t recommend it enough!

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