Slightly woozy guitar riff weaves into waves of lo-fi, warm, hypnotic soundscape, “These Days” could go on forever. A free-spirited solo slides in between lyrics. You could hear a vague 90s rock influence nicely tagged in, resurfacing every now and then. It slowly blossoms into a luscious synth-oriented dreamscape. If This Isn’t Nice, I Don’t Know What Is revolves around Still Woozy’s rapidly deteriorated mental health during the pandemic, and “These Days” was a special moment when the artist found his own therapeutic release. “I wrote the guitar part and I just played it on repeat,” said Still Woozy, “it was my own therapy.”
Carrying out a fast-paced, intensified energy, If This Isn’t Nice, I Don’t Know What Is is an introspective journey spiraling inward and a poetic reflection in its gradually changed sonic narrative. “Woof” makes an unforgettable first impression as the immersive instrumentations and fast-paced strums submerged over our heads. Lyrics become the vague whispers lost in the wind. “Get By” stays in your heart with its earworming, captivating pop resolution. It goes to the mixtape of R&B and hip-hop with a change in its color palette, while “Drake” surprises us with a fast three-time waltz that takes you to a different world.
If This Isn’t Nice, I Don’t Know What Is is the middle of the crossroad that leads to endless, multiple possibilities. There’s always a surprise waiting for you when you least expect it. Every song on the album is its own adventure that has not yet been fully explored. It takes you to an intricate design of a woozy world. An album of art with every single detail deliberately orchestrated from texture to sound. You hear how complex it is at the same time couldn’t help sink down into its sonic or being touched by its reflective lyricism. “There’s so much I wanted to do. I just put it out there as a disclaimer in the form of an album that my career could go into so many different directions,” said the artist himself.
Written by Katrina Yang
Press Q&A with Still Woozy
Q (RISING ARTISTS BLOG): What’s your favorite song on the album? And what’s the story behind it?
STILL WOOZY: I go back and forth. I think “These Days” it’s the last one. I remember writing it and I wrote the guitar part and I just played it on repeat. I was stressed out and it helped me so much to relax. It was my own therapy that helped me so that was a special moment to me.
Q: Was there a specific aesthetic or feeling you wanted to encompass on this album?
STILL WOOZY: I think it was honestly trying to get as many of my influences onto the same piece of work. Just to show people you can’t really expect anything. There are too many things I wanted to do. I just put it out there as a disclaimer in the form of an album that my career could go into so many different directions.
Q (BEYOND THE STAGE MAGAZINE): What’s your secret in balancing solid lyricism and catchy instrumentals?
STILL WOOZY: I always write the melody first. I feel like the framework is the melody and the instrumentation for me. I spend a lot of time after that, bringing in the lyrics. Just taking time intertwining the two. A solid framework is what I do
Q: This is your first time getting ready to write an album. Are there other hurdles while you were working on this project?
STILL WOOZY: It just takes a long time to make. I’m such a perfectionist. I had so many little edits I had to make. The whole time I was worried I was going to drive everybody on the team away because I was so intense about all these little things. It has almost gotten too much. I think it’s good that it’s really my first album. Going to learn more about how to relax.
Q (CUT IT OUT MAGAZINE): I know covid has changed. How did it influenced your music in terms of the way you write music?
STILL WOOZY: It really gives me time to focus on what I wanted to. I had time to experiment more and there’s just more stress in my life, so I ended up writing about my rapid deterioration of mental health.
Q: Did you give you more to write about?
STILL WOOZY: Yea maybe. It allowed me to look more inward than outward on the subject. A lot of time I would end up writing about my relationships and stuff. And this allowed me to shift the focus a little bit.
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