Nat Vazer is a rising, Melbourne-based singer/songwriter, who can trace the origins of her career to learning classical piano between the ages of five and 14. But throughout her life, Vazer has had a long-held fascination with singer/songwriters and bands, having grown up with her family’s record collection from the 60s, 70s and 70s. As a high schooler, the Melbourne-based artist stole her father’s guitar and started to learn Nirvana, The Strokes, and Death Cab for Cutie songs from internet guitar tabs.
In true DIY fashion, and like countless other young, aspiring musicians, she began writing songs in a high school punk bands, and attempting to record that material on old PCs with built-in microphones and free software.
Vazer’s full-length solo debut. 2020’s Robert Muiños-produced Is This Offensive and Loud? which was released by Hotel Motel Records in Australia and Perpetual Doom Records in the States and featured hit singles “For A Moment” and “Higher Places” received critical applause in her homeland and elsewhere: The album was nominated for a 2020 Australian Music Prize and laded on several Best Album of the Year Lists, including NME Australia, The Music, and others across the globe.
Earlier this month, Vazer released the slow-burning “Addicted to Misery,” the first single off her highly anticipated sophomore album, slated for release later this year. Rooted in the sort of deeply confessional lyricism that has drawn comparisons of her work to Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, Julia Jacklin, and others, then new single sees the acclaimed Aussie artist subtly pushing her sound in a more folk-tinged pop direction: a finger picked, looping guitar line is paired with gently stuttering drums, atmospheric electronics and Vazer’s achingly delicate, yearning vocal.
Directed and filmed by Benjamin Joel, the accompanying video for “Addicted to Misery’ is an equally gorgeous dream, split between sequences featuring Vazer struggling to get out from under the covers, wandering through the woods and performing with her backing band.
The single and video were released just as Vazer was embarking on her first ever Stateside tour with sets at last week’s The New Colossus Festival, this week’s SXSW and a series of headlining dates across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, including two New York Metropolitan area dates: March 23, 2023 at Pet Shop over in Jersey City and March 25, 2023 at Our Wicked Lady. As always tour dates are below.
Now, if you’ve been following me through my various social media accounts, you might recall that last week I was busy covering last week’s The New Colossus Festival. During a rare break in my busy coverage, I managed to catch the acclaimed and rising Aussie artist for the wide-ranging and fun conversation above.
Tour Dates
March 17 SXSW Lucille’s Sounds, Austin, TX
March 18 Quarry House Tavern, Washington DC
March 19 The Crown, Baltimore, MD
March 23 Pet Shop, Jersey City, NJ
March 25 Our Wicked Lady, Brooklyn, NY
March 26 Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia, PA