New artist TAZ (Brandon Niederauer) just released his debut single “Say Something” on July 18th. TAZ is a New York native and a recent Yale graduate, gaining his nickname from his impressive guitar playing skills. He started playing the guitar at eight after watching the movie School of Rock, and four years later he starred in the Broadway production of School of Rock the Musical. TAZ has appeared in “Saturday Night,” Jesus Christ Superstar Live, and the Netflix series She’s Gotta Have It and has played festivals and venues such as Coachella, The Met Gala, and Madison Square Garden.
The single is primarily a mix of pop, R&B, and rock. There are moments of filtered vocals and electronic sounds that add a little complexity to the pop sound of the song. The influence of rock here is mainly present with the addition of drums. The drums are most prominent at the bridge, and both the guitar and drums build in intensity during this bridge. From this bridge, we go back into the chorus again and end with the lingering guitar sound as the song tapers off. It’s an upbeat, catchy song that can be listened to over and over again.
Despite this, the lyrics still express complex emotions and indicate that there’s something deeper. The song is about an argument that’s bothering the singer. It’s clearly a repeated experience as TAZ sings “I don’t know what you want this time.” The overall takeaway from the single is what the chorus repeats: “Something is better than nothing.”
For this being a debut single and TAZ only being 22 years old, “Say Something” is impressively polished and already stuck in my head. TAZ is certainly talented on his own as the singer/songwriter for the single, but the addition of Grammy-winning Theron “Neff-U” as producer adds a level of musical experience that’s clear when listening to the song. If you want to see more of TAZ, a celebration of “Say Something” will be held on August 14th at NYC’s Mercury Lounge and then he will be going on a U.S. tour with Jon Batiste.
