EP Review – Lizzie Reid – Breaking Glass Magazine

Lizzie Reid – Mooching

Mooching, the latest EP from Glasgow singer-songwriter Lizzie Reid, captures the strengths of any sophomore project; not only does it catch the highlights of Reid’s previous work, but it explores new tonal realms, allowing the work to capture a weaving landscape of the indie folk artist’s sound. To appreciate the realms explored, it only feels right to cover each within its own space.

To do this EP justice, it is worth exploring each track, beginning with the last single before the EP’s release, titled Love of Her Life. The track showcases some Reid-esque qualities, with the verse taking atmospheric and melodic qualities from her previous EP Cubicle. What makes this track fresh from its predecessors is, strangely enough, Reid’s mastery of the presentation of emotional complexity. The chorus’ lyrics “She told me I’m the love of her life” / “She told me even when she changed her mind” hold true to this; the combination of beautifully reverbarating piano, slowly effective percussion and twangy electric guitar backs the message with a tune that feels both intimate and lost, both mournful and hopeful – a mysteriously captivating way to open Mooching.

Next up is Bible, the first single release. Since its first appearance on Breaking Glass, the tune retains its piercing emotion, feeling just as yearnful here as in its solo debut.

Soda Pop Stream provides a new sensation in the LR discography, being (no matter how old it makes me sound) Cool. The track punches hard, with a tiptoeing 6/8 rhythm that gives Reid a chance to display some suave aspects of her personality. The line “I will heat up your plate with my face” rings in my head as I write, even if I don’t truly know what it means just yet.

From making rhythms with flames to painting in teardrops, How Do I Show my Love details the role that panic attacks have had in harming Reid’s relationships. In her own words, “When I sing this song it makes me feel how hard it has been to stay connected and express my feelings for certain people I care about”. The anguish at the heart of the track rings throughout, but in its message comes a feeling of catharsis. A repeated image of Reid’s painting of a man and his dog becomes an art that brings a feeling of strength. In the talent in her expression, Reid brings pain into a light where it can dissolve into experience.

Blazing into its finish, Mooching ends with Warpaint. The tune has a pop quality that once again brings out both the old and new of her style. Reid’s ending here adds the same singalong quality of cubicle, almost communally celebrating the triumphs of her record. It’s no wonder, considering the trials faced and strived through within this collection of songs, that this moment feels joyous, adding the frame to the art that she has created. With it, Reid’s portrait of love, connection, heartbreak and adversity is complete, demonstrating an extremely open, divinely performed reflection on life.