Drawing Mazes "Fuzzy Radio": A Record About Quiet Change
- asonginlife
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
Fuzzy Radio is not a single moment focused record. Instead, it brings together songs written and recorded by Drawing Mazes over nearly five years, reflecting gradual changes in perspective rather than dramatic shifts. The collection includes recordings from as early as 2020 alongside more recent material, with each song tied to a specific period while maintaining a consistent reflective tone. Grief is present throughout much of the record, but it does not dominate the narrative. The songs give equal attention to routine, memory, and the ongoing process of moving forward, which gives Fuzzy Radio the feeling of a personal collection shaped over time rather than a formal statement.
Seven Songs, Seen Up Close
We Will Find Our Way opens the record with a soulful and upbeat tone, carried by soft vocals and a reflective pace. The song feels rooted in looking back, particularly toward younger years, without turning that reflection into a conclusion. Bad Haircut follows with a noticeably different feel, built around a funk-driven rhythm that adds contrast early in the sequence. It is one of the more rhythm-forward moments on the record and sits apart from the surrounding songs without feeling disconnected. The Snowman and Snowy Day arrive next and keep the focus narrow, using simple arrangements and restrained structures. Both tracks remain small in scale and sit close together in mood and pacing.
Resonate shifts attention back toward a fuller song structure while staying consistent with the record’s overall tone. It feels more developed than the surrounding tracks without pushing toward a larger sound. The Next Family, recorded in 2020 shortly after the passing of the artist’s mother, carries a different context within the album’s timeline. The recording remains unchanged from that period and stands as one of the earliest moments represented here. Fly Low closes the record at a steady pace, maintaining a low-key arrangement rather than signaling a clear ending. It finishes the album without summarizing it, leaving the songs to exist as they are.
What Stood Out and What I’d Recommend
The song that stood out most to me on Fuzzy Radio is The Next Family. Its placement within the album’s timeline is significant, having been recorded in 2020 shortly after the passing of the artist’s mother, but what made it stand out to me was how clearly it remains tied to that moment. The recording does not feel revisited or reshaped to suit the rest of the collection. Instead, it sits alongside the other tracks as a preserved piece of time, which makes it more noticeable with each listen. Compared to the surrounding songs, it feels less concerned with cohesion and more focused on existing as it was originally captured, and that directness is what stayed with me most.
For a recommendation, I would choose We Will Find Our Way. As the opening track on Fuzzy Radio, it introduces the sound of the record in a way that is clear and accessible, with a soulful tone, soft vocals, and a reflective pace. I would recommend it to a friend because it gives a strong sense of the album’s overall mood without requiring any prior context. It fits naturally into a playlist built around calm, melodic songs intended for focused or background listening, where consistency and tone matter more than contrast. As a first point of contact with Drawing Mazes, it represents the record well while remaining easy to return to on its own.
After Listening
After spending time with Fuzzy Radio, what stands out is how comfortably the record holds together despite the different periods in which these songs were recorded. Nothing feels adjusted to match a single version of the artist or a single point in time. Instead, the record reflects how songwriting can exist alongside everyday life, personal loss, and routine without needing to resolve those experiences. Fuzzy Radio does not ask for attention through scale or emphasis. It stays grounded in the moments it documents and allows those songs to remain as they were, which ultimately feels consistent with how the record presents itself from beginning to end.