The debut album from Richmond, Virginia’s James Goodson is a delight. As Dazy, he’s already on the map for having collaborated with Militarie Gun on the single “Pressure Cooker” this past March, and has been living rent-free in listeners’ heads ever since. If that was your introduction to Dazy’s brand of grungy power-pop, you’ve got some catching up to do—not only is there the self-explanatory 24-track MAXIMUMBLASTSUPERLOUD compilation released last year, but there’s also that debut album which arrives today.
It feels strange to say OUTOFBODY has “finally” arrived, as Goodson has been building up momentum with regular output over the past two years, but it’s a “holy shit is this guy good” kind of level-up, a more focused take on the sound established via early singles and compiled on MBSL. It’s got hooks for weeks and surely has Goodson banging on the door of the Lame-O Records Power Pop Chat. At 12 songs and 25 minutes, it’s nothing less than scuzz-pop gold.
We asked Goodson what musical ingredients went into the creation of the record, and you can sample those for yourself below. Then hit Bandcamp to stream and/or purchase OUTOFBODY if you haven’t done so already.
The Jesus and Mary Chain, “Between Planets”
When I sat down to make this playlist, I knew I had to start with a JAMC song. They’re one of my all time favorite bands, and probably the most direct influence on the way I think about writing Dazy songs. There are other bands that impacted me first or in more drastic ways—but more than any other band, JAMC might have pretty much everything I like about music all in one place: they’re loud and noisy, but also super melodic and catchy; their songs are simple, but really satisfying; they’re consistent, but have different elements on all their records; they’re extremely cool, but also shy weirdos; they’re a big guitar band, but so many of their songs are also danceable…I could go on and on.
I chose “Between Planets” because it’s from Automatic, which has some of their most in-your-face drum machine sounds on it. Years ago when I was feeling kind of in a rut with writing music, I remember driving around listening to Automatic and it really helped me unlock what I wanted to do. I had all these demos with drum machines that I assumed would eventually need to be replaced, but I realized that maybe I was gravitating toward these dinky drum machine sounds for a reason. That realization pretty much was the start of what became Dazy.
Ramones, “I Won’t Let It Happen”
Talk about a band that influenced me early on and in huge ways. I love the Ramones so much. I just think they’re the coolest, and their first record is pretty much the prototype for all the music I like. That said, I went with a song from one of their later records because I think they were putting out a ton of great songs long after people stopped paying attention. “I Won’t Let It Happen” always makes me imagine an alternate reality where the Ramones leaned further into this jangly sound. It sounds like Joey Ramone singing on a Teenage Fanclub song.
Teenage Fanclub, “Slow Fade”
Speaking of Teenage Fanclub: another obvious Dazy influence. What a band—just so catchy and timeless sounding. They’re also very inspiring to me because they’ve made consistently great music for decades and have aged so gracefully. “Slow Fade” is from their album Man-Made, which came out in 2005, and isn’t exactly considered their “classic” years, but it’s a perfect little guitar-pop song. I think it’s so cool that they were doing their thing and doing it well no matter what the zeitgeist was keyed in on.
Bob Mould, “It’s Too Late”
Bob Mould is just the king. Again, someone who’s been doing it for decades and has been great the whole time. I love Hüsker Dü, and there’s definitely a lot of Sugar in the Dazy recipe, but I also think his solo career is so interesting and packed with amazing songs. His self-titled record is a particularly big one for me because he was doing the whole drum-machines-and-punky-guitars thing. I remember getting really into that record, and when I’d get worried about some wacky drum machine thing I was messing with I’d think, “Well, if it was good enough for Bob, it’s certainly good enough for you.” “It’s Too Late” isn’t from that record, it’s just one of my favorites.
The Amps, “Tipp City”
Alright, I know I describe things as “cool” too much, but Kim Deal is just so cool. The thing that always sticks out to me about her songwriting is how she manages to do things that are unexpected or out-there, but makes them so catchy that you don’t even notice the weird choices at first. I was listening to Pacer by The Amps a lot while recording OUTOFBODY. I love how raw and off-the-cuff-sounding it is.
The Bevis Frond, “Blew Me Out”
I’m realizing as I’m writing this that a lot of the musicians I think of as big influences are these lifers who’ve been doing their thing for a very long time. I think I gravitate toward artists who seem like they’re compelled to make songs whether anyone is listening or not, the ones who are just sort of obsessed with it. Also people who seem like they have sort of a craftsperson attitude about making catchy music. Nick Solomon from The Bevis Frond seems like both. There were a handful of Bevis Frond records that I’d spent a lot of time with, but a couple years ago I made it a project to listen to their entire catalog and I couldn’t believe how consistently great they are. I hope I’m still making songs when I’m 70.
Another Sunny Day, “Anorak City”
My first big musical love was punk, but then in my early twenties I got into The Jesus and Mary Chain and that led me down the rabbit hole with that stuff on Creation Records and Sarah Records—just all that great ’80s and ’90s UK stuff. Another Sunny Day kind of sums up everything I like about that era. They were trying to make full-on pop songs, but they’re doing it with this noisy punky energy. I also just think everyone in that scene looked extremely cool and I get a kick out of how “Anorak City” acknowledges that the look can be a fun part of rock ’n’ roll.
East River Pipe, “The Club Isn’t Open”
East River Pipe sort of bridges the gap between the worlds of Sarah Records and Merge Records. Just really beautiful and unique songwriting with a ton of personality. Learning that he records everything at home was really big for me. It’s not “lo-fi” music, per se; it sounds like someone trying to make a good recording but the means he’s using keep it rough around the edges in a really great way. Bedroom pop before that was even a thing.
The Distillers, “Dismantle Me”
This record, Coral Fang, totally blew my mind as a kid. I think it was one of the first albums where I could hear a really clear line from the punk that I liked to the more alt-rock stuff that I liked. There’s something so fun about discovering new music as a kid and starting to connect the dots between all the different things you like. Some musicians don’t seem to like it when their music gets boiled down to “It’s like ABC combined with XYZ…” but honestly, trying to combine things I like is a big part of how I write Dazy songs. Also Brody Dalle’s voice is awesome and this song rips.
Airport 5, “Stifled Man Casino”
Gotta have some Robert Pollard on this list. Talk about someone who seems like he just can’t help but make music. I love this song in particular because, one, it’s super catchy, and two, at first the lyrics kinda seem like the usual out-there Pollard type stuff, but there’s this sadness or disappointment that you glean from them that almost seems to come from the music more than the words themselves. A perfect little song.
Garbage, “I Think I’m Paranoid”
I always liked the hits, but I went on kind of a Garbage deep dive over the past couple years. I love this particular moment in the late-’90s/early-’00s where a lot of rock bands were putting electronic bleepy-bloopy stuff in their music, and Garbage probably did it better than anyone. I get drawn in by the big dumb fuzzy guitars and then notice all these awesome little details in the music the more I listen.
Oasis, “Go Let It Out”
OK, so I was a little iffy about putting Oasis on this list at first because it’s sorta like saying The Beatles are a big influence—like, first of all, duh, second of all, everyone says that but no one is coming even close. But if Oasis have taught me anything it’s that trying to be super clever is not cool. So who am I kidding, I love Oasis. I think there’s a lot to like on all their albums, even the ones people can’t stand. “Go Let It Out” was from a record where it sorta seemed like they were trying to get a little more nuanced, and I love the way it starts with a drum loop and then the rest of the song is layered on top. It’s also a song where Liam grunts “Uah” over top of a pretty Mellotron line and Noel mumbles some shit about the bass right before the bass starts playing, so that rocks. I also love The Beatles.
Blur, “On Your Own”
Ripped off the Oasis Band-Aid so might as well talk about Blur, too. I’ve been on a pretty big Damon Albarn kick lately and I really appreciate how fearless he is about songwriting. His recent solo record is really beautiful, and Gorillaz are still cranking out great stuff to this day. But I’m not gonna lie, I kinda like Blur the best when they’re just rocking. “On Your Own” has this great big anthemic chorus and the guitars sound like they’re being made up for the first time as the song goes along.
Medicine, “Something Goes Wrong”
Listened to a lot of Medicine while recording OUTOFBODY. I love the way they’re this total weirdo mutant sounding band musically, but then the singing and the melodies are so pretty. “Something Goes Wrong” sounds like someone’s playing a drum set in one ear while your other ear is full of water, and I obviously mean that as a huge compliment.
EMF, “Unbelievable”
I just love how dance-y this song is while also kinda making you wanna headbang. It’s a pop song but it definitely rocks. Just kind of a wacky song when you think about it, but it’s a hit!
The I Don’t Cares, “Born for Me”
This is kind of a cheat because I get to shout out Juliana Hatfield and Paul Westerberg with one song. I love Wild Stab and I wish they’d make another record together. I think one of the things that I find kind of inspiring about The I Don’t Cares is that the whole thing seems like a no-brainer. It’s two amazing songwriters making pretty classic sounding songs together and just recording them on the fly. I find it very difficult to avoid overthinking, and this record is a great reminder that sometimes the obvious thing is the best thing.
Green Day, “Church on Sunday”
Nirvana, “Sliver”
Speaking of the obvious thing, I’m gonna wrap this up with the first two bands I ever loved. Nirvana and Green Day are so built into my musical DNA that I can barely even remember hearing them for the first time—they were just kind of there from the jump. Come talk to me at a show and I’ll geek out about either of them for as long as you want.
