Following up her 2021 debut EP ‘Getaway Car’ which came as a kind of musical catharsis following a long recovery after a painful brain injury from a car crash, London-based Dutch electropop artist Charly Haze returns with her new collection ‘Poly Pop’.

Whereas ‘Getaway Car’ was not unexpectedly tinged with melancholy and featured a downbeat cover of ‘The Boys Of Summer’, as the title suggests, ‘Poly Pop’ is a much more confident if still introspective pop statement about navigating a new life abroad as a 30something, dealing with the trials and tribulations of poly dating.

Fully self-realised and self-produced, this is a 5 year adventure documented in 5 songs; opener ‘Half Wide Open’ makes a rousing popwave statement although the wall of sound does mean our heroine is almost swamped in the chorus. ‘Busy Minds’ is less frantic and more hazy in duet with a mystery man who may or may not be the one, while with six string strums sparring off pulsating electronic bass and chopped-up vocal samples, ‘Shake Off’ sparkles as a slice of shiny pop.

Very uptempo, ‘Wasted’ brings in syncopation and comes over like a nocturnal take on NEW ORDER meeting PURITY RING on a Los Angeles highway although the distorted Maisie Peters-inspired vocal spoils the ride slightly. An atmospheric take on the Gabrielle ballad ‘Out Of Reach’ closes ‘Poly Pop’ and the angelic vocal imagines what would have happened if Natalie Imbruglia had gone synthwave.

“Moving to a new country allowed me to reinvent myself in all possible ways, and to embrace the versatility of my identity” said Charly Haze, “I’ve never felt like I excelled at one thing – playing an instrument or being a vocalist. It’s the combination of writing lyrics, composing melodies, crafting soundscapes, and translating everything visually”

There is promise in this EP and as Charly Haze does some critical analysis and develops her craft further, things can only get even better.

‘Poly Pop’ is out now via Kartel Music Group on the usual digital platforms

https://www.facebook.com/charlyhazesongs

https://www.instagram.com/charlyhazesongs/

https://www.tiktok.com/@charlyhaze

Text by Chi Ming Lai
Photos by Philine Van Den Hul
26th September 2025