mazie's 'blotter baby' Is a Psychedelic Indie Pop Debut For the Ages
Photo: Jade Sadler
When you boil it down to its bones, mazie’s debut album blotter baby is a psychedelic trip through every checkpoint of love: the destruction of expired love, the blooming of new love, and the reclamation of self-love.
A year in the making, what’s most impressive is how ambitious this project is for a debut, intricately produced and gorgeously written. Having studied classical and jazz from an early age, it isn’t all that surprising that mazie was able to deliver something so dynamic yet concrete, but it’s still worth noting.
Beyond an album, blotter baby is an entire universe, decorated with neon trees and bleeding flowers. You can find every element in blotter baby, from water to fire to air to earth itself. It’s evident the project was bred from deep introspection and an intimate conjoining with Gaia, alongside remnants of psilocybin, of course. “I use psychedelics to connect with my humanity and personal psychology,” mazie shares. “I feel as though my relationship with psychedelics has emboldened my understanding of intersectionality, strengthened my empathy, and all around made me a better and more understanding person.”
From ukuleles to ’70s-inspired pop hooks, the indie pop project is engaging minute-by-minute yet never distracting from mazie’s siren-esque vocals. She’s just as hypnotizing as her voice, a walking performance that yells a bold-lettered story through both hair and fashion.
From fractured hearts to an impending doom, there is something for every fragile soul in blotter baby. “i look good” and “girls just wanna have sex” are declarations of sovereignty, the reminder that we get to be loudly obsessed with ourselves if we so desire. “are you feeling it now” sounds like it came straight from Calvin Harris’ Funk Wav Bounces series, while “another life” is the lovechild of Tame Impala and beabadoobee.
After her internet boom with 2020’s “no friends,” she could have gone anywhere with her debut, and it’s clear she chose to pour herself into something worth being proud of. As she jets for tour with Rebecca Black in the spring, only anticipation greets seeing this project take on a new life on stage.
Listen to blotter baby below:
