At the end of a very painful breakup, Lizzie Weber harnessed her emotions in a set of songs that were too painful to perform. Now, some four years later, the scars have lost much of their sting. The results found on her E.P. You, document the relationship’s dissolution and the damage it did to her psyche.
The paralysis resulting from heartbreak is the central theme of the song You. Featuring the most involved arrangement of the three tracks, it has in Weber’s words, “an Americana/Spaghetti western vibe,” found in Ben Meyer’s electric guitar. Lyrically Weber describes it as the most “cathartic” of the three tracks, so much so that the first time she played the song live she could not finish it, leaving it and the other two unplayed for the next three years.
Monster is remarkably controlled. Musically there is little more than a guitar and a subtle slide guitar by Meyer, yet emotionally the experience is devastating. The final chorus brings critical clarity to the situation, “Now come out you monster in me, leave with your demon, leave with your demon, let me be.” Yet Lizzie’s singing isn’t overwrought, in fact it’s almost lacking in emotion, as it there is little of her left.
Catcher comes from the dream-catcher she has hung over her bed. The song gets straight to the heart of her vulnerability. Recorded in the most basic form, just her guitar and voice there’s nothing to hide behind. The ballad reveals incredible depths of experience, dwelling on loss, trauma and dreams. She sings about a breakup, “If only the catcher would have caught my dreams I would be spared that wretched, cursed loss.” Weber chose to record the song simply to give attention to “the melodic and lyrical cadence of the song; for it to feel as intimate as a dream.”
It takes a brave artists to wear her scars out in public for all the world to see. In doing so Lizzie Weber gives us the opportunity to examine our own relationships, not to judge how we fare in comparison to her, but rather to gain insight from her experiences.
Words by: Bob Fish