Hailing originally from Cincinnati, and now based in Los Angeles, musician Zach Miller, known on stage as Lazy Daze, has released the biting new single, “Reminiscing,” a tune that edges on surfer rock and post punk with heavy bass lines, echoey guitars and melancholy lyrics. The new single draws from Miller’s experience moving to L.A. in 2019 to pursue music. With the pandemic that happened the subsequent year, the song grew to encapsulate not just the feelings of leaving friends and family behind, but being stuck and alone in isolation as many were during the height of the pandemic and lock downs.
With deep vocals that cut through the air like a knife and crunchy instrumentals, the tune builds into an anxious lament fueled by the worries and frustrations over things you can’t really control but also can’t help but think about. Letting his mind wander without a filter or self judgement, “Reminiscing” sheds light on the internal turmoil we sometimes go through.
“Reminiscing was written about all the people and places I missed and wasn’t able to see, and the relationships I had that I wondered whether or not would exist once the pandemic ended. I originally wrote Reminiscing when I had just come out to LA, and was really missing the people I had left behind back in Ohio,” says Miller. “Once the pandemic hit though, the song took on a whole other meaning and really just became about the nostalgia I had for life before all of the terrible events of 2020. It became really hard for me not to reminisce about life pre pandemic, and that really became the basis for coming back to the track and completing it.”
While the pandemic halted Miller’s plans to release music under his new stage name, he was able to release one single last year during the summer, and he worked as a first responder in L.A., seeing firsthand the devastating effects the pandemic had on individuals and families. Through it all he kept writing and was able to release a few singles this year and drop his debut EP, Pitted, earlier in July in conjunction with “Reminiscing.”
Most of the songs on his new EP were written during the quarantine and while they are somewhat about relationships, even though Miller himself wasn’t in a relationship during the time, they’re also a way for people to feel anchored and like they aren’t alone even when they’re going through hard times.
”I figured I wasn’t the only person in the world who was going through a hard time,” Miller notes. “I feel like all the songs are really relatable. We all experience the highs of highs, when we are in love. And we all go through the hard times as well, especially during heartbreak. That’s basically what the EP is all about. Just the ups and downs of being in love. And it seemed appropriate to release it during these times because of all the shit we’ve had to deal with these last two years.”
With musical influences that range from Blink 182 and The Strokes to the Beach Boys, Miller’s music is multi-dimensional and the young Asian American musician dabbled in other genres such as rap (though not as seriously as his current venture under Lazy Daze) before cultivating his current sound. In addition to making music that connects with people, Miller hopes to carve more space in indie music for other Asian American musicians.
Words: Patti Sanchez
For more on his music, make sure to check out his music links here or follow him on Instagram or Twitter.
