Start Listening To: Lizzie Reid

On channeling anxiety into sound, rediscovering her heavier instincts, and letting songs land before they lose their soul.

Glasgow songwriter Lizzie Reid has always moved between intimacy and intensity, but her latest work leans fully into the latter. With new single ‘Sweet Relief’ and the EP Undoing, Reid confronts cycles of anxiety, obsession and recovery head-on, pairing raw, instinctive lyricism with a darker, more expansive sound. We caught up with her to talk about embracing her rock roots, writing through difficult periods, and finding release on the other side.

For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?

My name is Lizzie Reid, I’m from Glasgow and I’m a singer/songwriter. My music can go from being classic singer/songwriter music to rock/alternative quite quickly. I like to switch it up and incorporate my different influences when it feels right to do so.

‘Sweet Relief’ feels heavier and more confrontational than some of your earlier work,what pushed you in that direction sonically?

I’ve always had that kind of sound in me, a side that hasn’t had a chance to be expressed over the last couple of years. I started out in rock bands. To a certain degree rock music is my roots. I love confrontational music, it’s such a release. So this sound isn’t new to me personally, but it will be to those who have followed my music over the last 5 years!

You’ve described the song as coming from cycles of obsession and panic, at what point did that experience start to take shape as something you could write about?

I started writing about my experience with obsession and panic in 2020. It was a dark time for me mentally. It felt like anxiety was all I knew. I had no choice but to write about it because there simply was nothing else. It sounds dramatic but that was what it felt like. An all-consuming experience that I was constantly trying to make sense of. Now that I have managed to process much of that time period, it’s only recently that I’ve been able to write about other experiences. It’s crazy how these things can take over if you don’t have the tools to slow everything down.

There’s a line about risking everything “to live in pain again”, how important is it for you to be that direct in your lyrics?

If I am being honest, it’s not something I think about much. It sounds so unpoetic but I prefer not to think about lyrics at all. I like to see what comes out naturally and if it makes me feel something then it sticks. As soon as I start thinking.. the soul is sucked out of it for me. It just so happens the some of my lyrics tend to be on the vulnerable and honest side of the lyrical spectrum, ha! It’s important that it feels natural and together with the music as a whole.

The EP is called Undoing, which suggests both collapse and rebuilding, what does that process look like for you personally?

After hitting rock bottom, the process of rebuilding looks like hard work, patience, compassion, taking responsibility, patience again, and letting time pass. It’s no easy feat but you need to start somewhere and sometimes rock bottom is the perfect spring board to push up against. I think Matt Haig said something like that in his Comfort Book. More eloquently, of course.

Do you see these songs as a kind of release, or do they feel more like sitting with things you can’t quite resolve yet?

Thankfully I’m at the stage where these songs feel like a release to me. They can still bring up uncomfortable emotions at times, but nothing I can’t handle!

‘Sweet Relief’ features Hamish Hawk, how did that collaboration come together and what did he bring to the track?

Hamish is a dear friend of mine and I have been playing in his band for a couple of years now. I felt like Sweet Relief could use a bit of extra depth and darkness to it, which Hamish’s voice was perfect for. There is something a little sinister in the layering of our voices that I just love. It felt like such an obvious and natural choice to ask him to sing on it.

The production feels quite expansive and intense, how did you approach balancing that scale with such personal subject matter?

To me the intense guitars and swooping organ sounds symbolise the intensity of what it’s like to have thoughts you don’t want to have. The experience is intense! Sometimes it can feel like the world is collapsing, your stomach is sinking, you’re falling. It may be a personal experience but the emotions are large, and I wanted to convey that in the music.

You’ve built a reputation as a “musician’s musician”, does that label mean anything to you, or do you try to tune that out?

I have the utmost respect for my fellow musicians. I am so blessed to be around so many of them, all the time. Experiencing their work ethic, their artistry, wisdom, individuality. And it feels special to have that respect returned in many cases. I like making music that my peers enjoy, of course, but I am also aware that everyone has different musical visions and goals. Not everything is for everyone and I know fine well there will be people who don’t connect with what I’m doing too, and that’s okay! So yeah I try to keep a balanced mindset on that one.

You’ve shared stages with a really wide range of artists, from Tori Amos to Arlo Parks, have those experiences shaped how you think about your own live shows?

Of course! I can get very hung up on what my favourite musicians are doing, and how they are doing it. I try not to slip into that too much because there is no point in comparing yourself to others. Being inspired is one thing, but trying to change what you’re doing from a place of “what you are isn’t enough”?.. there is no room for that here anymore. I remember when I found out I was doing the Tori Amos show in Edinburgh, I started practicing piano for about 5 hours a day in the run up to the show… which is totally ridiculous in hindsight. I was never going to be Tori Amos, nor should that be my goal. It worked wonders for my piano playing though, ha!

When you’re writing about something as heavy as this, how do you know when a song is finished and not overworked?

There is that saying “art is never finished”? Something along those lines, right? I don’t function like that. A soon as something communicates and articulates the message and overall feeling of a song, it’s done. All the other stuff is fluff. Track the damn thing and move on. I’m kidding.. to a degree. This is what I tell myself so I don’t get stuck on something for too long and, again, suck the soul out of it.

With Undoing being a relatively concise EP, did you find that limiting the number of tracks helped sharpen what you wanted to say?

Exactly! I definitely didn’t want to dilute the message by adding in songs that didn’t tonally feel akin to the rest.

What do you love right now?

I love books. I’m currently reading Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. It’s beautiful. Learning from other people’s stories, hearing their wisdom, compassion and love for life. I love that right now.

What do you hate right now?

Social media.

Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?

There are too many to choose! I’ll say Let It Be by the Beatles because they are a band that mean so much to many loved ones in my life. And obviously because they are the peak of songwriting. Fleetwood Mac’s self-titled album was the first CD I ever bought and I still visit it from time to time. It takes me back to the very pure moment of falling in love with music. And finally.. Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette because it’s a beautiful depiction of female rage and the songs are absolute bangers from start to finish.

When someone hears your music for the first time, what do you hope sticks with them?

I hope the way it makes them feel sticks with them most. Whatever that may be.

Photography By: Marilena Vlachopoulou