Izzy Outerspace - Amazon

Izzy Outerspace

Amazon
​self-released; 2020

4.1 out of 5 - TOP ALBUM

By Graham Hall

Amazon is the debut album from Los Angeles based musician Izzy Outerspace. Growing up in Switzerland, Izzy Outerspace were immersed in rock bands like Blur and Die Toten Hosen while also taking inspiration from singer/songwriters like Damien Rice. Izzy Outerspace’s music falls somewhere in between these two inspirations. The music has a dreamy quality with plenty of space for more stripped-down moments that put Izzy Outerspace’s vocals and lyricism front and center. 

The opening track “Spare Time” is dream-pop bliss a la Beach House. The vocals and acoustic guitar echo through the song’s universe atop a droning synthesizer. Eventually, drums enter the mix, and the song builds to a crescendoing finish. The title track follows a similar path, starting quiet and atmospheric, then transitioning to an intense finish. 

“Wildfires” is the first of a handful of subdued tracks on Amazon. The song features cool vocal runs that almost act as a synthesizer, and the chorus’s vocal melody is an instant earworm. 

The remainder of Amazon follows a similar pattern: a quiet song followed by one that builds to a climactic ending, followed by a quiet song, and so on. After a while, the repetition can’t be ignored and takes away from the project's overall impact. However, the individual songs are great, and it’s obvious Izzy Outerspace has a grasp on style and knows how to execute it. 

“Home” is the album's most powerful song. It’s noise inspiration pairs well with Outerspace’s booming and reverberated vocal lines. The mix creates a wall of sound quality that is unique to the album as a whole but doesn’t feel out of place in the slightest. 

​Amazon is a strong debut showing from Izzy Outerspace. The dream-pop project shows off Outerspace’s strength as a songwriter and vocalist, despite being predictable at times. I’m looking forward to hearing how Izzy Outerspace builds off of this sound.

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