Odyssey
1. Contravertical (6:08)
2. Discover (6:02)
3. Paper Bird (5:40)
4. Camouflage (5:08)
5. Zombie Dream (4:35)
6. Smoke Jumper (5:11)
7. Rocket (2:02)
8. Be the Sun (7:33)
INSPIRATION
Odyssey is Kazyak’s most pioneering work yet, following the Happy Camping EP (2017) and the Reflection LP (2018). On the surface, Odyssey is extremely satisfying indie rock ear candy. Dig a little deeper and find intricate connections between lyrical, visual and aural elements. From guitarist/songwriter Peter Frey’s perspective, the album is “more rugged, forward-looking and psychedelic than our past releases. It’s the first record we’ve recorded live, and is channeling inspiration from Patagonia and themes from Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth. It attempts to capture the desire to explore and to take the listener to the edge of discovery.”
SOUND
Kazyak is no stranger to taking chances with sound and Odyssey is proof. The songwriting is on the same level as past releases, but the focus here is that they’ve turned up the psychedelic knob several notches – wetter vocals, an orchestrated Prophet V and Juno 106 synth-combo, and heroic guitar hooks, held together by solid drums and bass. The album contains a countless string of highlights, beginning with Contravertical, a deep dive into the unknown. The fourth track, Camouflage, is a heavy-hitting stoner anthem about trying to blend in (things are moving really fast / it’s all part of the plan / said I’d kick the habit but I just kick the can). Zombie Dream, is the obvious single portraying a slow-core, zombie apocalypse dreamscape whose chorus cops the opening lines from Bob Dylan’s Mama You’ve Been on My Mind. And finally, Smoke Jumper offers a floaty, high-powered jam where listeners will feel swept off the ground by a strong breeze (feel the force of the lift / the direction and drift). With Odyssey, Kazyak gives listeners plenty to explore.
PRESS HIGHLIGHTS
“Music with the ability to transport a listener out of their body and into a whole new space is rare, but Kazyak’s new album Odyssey, accomplishes this feat with relative ease. As I sat down with earbuds to let this music flow through me completely, I lost all sense of time. Odyssey will take you on a trip so delightful that you won’t even know how long you’ve been gone, and in that lies its true beauty. It may seem simple a first, but it is something that you will come back to once you realize that there is so much left to unpack.” – Jason DeMoe, Music in Minnesota
“We find this crew going pomo psych and turning the levels up a notch as they embark on a trip inspired by a trip. A real, modern head trip, this is the stuff that’s right down the alley for people looking for outré music to feed their heads.” – Midwest Record 
Friday Five (5/16/2019) + Song of the Day (8/16/2019) – 89.3 the Current 
“Odyssey is a dreamy, crunchy soundscape, with lyrics that cite the Mariana Trench and the far reaches of outer space, while leveraging tape audio from Joseph Campbell’s ‘The Power of Myth.’ What’s really cool is that Kazyak doesn’t stay in any mood/mode too long.” – Jonathan Widran, JW Vibe 
“Odyssey delivers ambient pendulousness. Out of the ashes of a melancholic intro, the band somehow fills in the ominous framework created by the background synths with a post-punk melody that is downright optimistic. By the end, the band allows us to witness the devolution of a rock song into pure, melodically-filtered noise.” – Kim Muncie, Neufutur
“Odyssey is mind-bending music, like something out of a dream. It’s as contemplative on the instrumental front as it is thought-provoking lyrically. None of the space in this LP goes unutilized. Kazyak is an elite psych-rock crew who maximize avant-gardism.” – John McCall, Too Much Love
“Anyone can get into these songs and find something, lyrical or musical, to relate to on a deeper level. Odyssey has all the essential trappings of neo-psychedelic rock, applying such pedestrian terminology to a record as multifaceted and stimulating as Odyssey would seem, to me at least, rather dismissive of the sonic might that it delivers consistently, even after repeat listens.” – Loren Sperry, Music Existence 
“Languidly strolling across the aural sphere [Odyssey] is a psychedelically sonic adventure. [It] gives off a Tame Impala-like vibe, or even Sex People, as it stretches in and out of a cosmic dreamscape of sound. Vocally we’re reminded of Neil Young, with that laid back casualness that you know deep down actually means serious business.” – Essentially Pop 
“With Odyssey, Kazyak gives listeners plenty to explore, [it’s the band’s] most pioneering work yet.“ – Merrit Crowe, GIGsoup Music 
“Peter Frey, the bold indie-craft voice of Twin Cities-based Kazyak, details Odyssey’s retreat to psychedelia. It’s an extension of what the band has been doing since their inception: delving into what it means to be human.” – Mimi Geller, Minnesota Monthly 
“With Odyssey, Kazyak delivers kaleidoscopic spilling colors, heavily glistening reverb, and reverie-esque progressive rock dynamics.” – Randy Radic, Rawckus Magazine 
“Odyssey is audio aurora borealis, beautiful sunrise stuff, a light show of sonic beauty, colors that are buoyant upon the waves of cerebral psych-prog with wah-wah peddled wings, melodically drifting from universe to universe. This album is a mantra of riff magical rock music.” – Bill Golembeski, Soundblab 
“Intended for space rockers and synthetic shoegazers, emitting colorful guitar tones, abstract groove-driven swagger, and uncorrupted, shamelessly experimental rock.” – Mindy McCall, Indie Pulse 
“Odyssey is a full-bodied psychedelic treasure chest riddled with a tonality that speaks to the soul through its warm depth of emotion. Kazyak have made a sonic spellbinder, as I listen I find myself drifting in and out of consciousness.” – Michael Rand, MobAngeles 
“The thing we’re always searching for in the world of music…a band or artist who doesn’t sound like all the others. Odyssey is even more hallucinogenic than you might think, a true underground album, similar to underground bands in the 1970s but infused with cool threads of not-so-subtle psychedelia. This is one of those rare cases where the folks involved did everything right.” – Babysue 
“Kazyak has boldly sought to capture a sound that guides us like a ship navigating only on the stars in the clear night sky. In the vast, exploratory openness of Odyssey, I find myself clinging to the little things, the intricacies of the record that ebb and flow into one another with grace and precision. The album waxes poetic in a way that can be as simple or complex as you allow your mind to make it. The escapism of the record is quite pleasing and full of depth. The finest touch, however, comes in the reservation of the record. Rather than overwhelming any one part of any track with single abrasiveness vying for attention, Kazyak plains their delivery with a blended composition that is smooth as glass.” – Greg, Nanobot Rock 
“Odyssey feels as though it’s been transmitted from space. There’s a whole Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” vibe and stated inspiration from Joseph Campbell’s 1988 book and tv series, ‘The Power Of Myth.’” – Essentially Pop
“Odyssey is blurred beauty with extremely tight musicianship where synth and electronics add much to the mood. It’s a fascinating, complicated listen that one can peruse repeatedly without fear of ennui, we can easily put Kazyak on a list with the most exciting bands that exists in the Twin Cities today.” – Take Effect 
“There are few things as powerful as yearning vocals, soaring guitars and a locked-in rhythm section. Odyssey is cinematic, celestial and deeply impacting from start to finish. This is an album that is colossal in scope, deeply indelible in its impact and has a prayer-like serenity that is profound, lasting and well worth repeated listens.” – Greg Grobson, Step Inside This House 