poppedmusic

Run

Released 18th March 2016

Words: Lauren Grigor

I feel like there’s a wonderful (albeit slow) shift towards valuing these solo female artists beyond their femininity. Eliza Shaddad reminds me of the incredible Bat For Lashes and one of my favourites Nadine Shah; they all have a good mix of feminine and masculine elements in their music.

Eliza’s songs are poignant and brave; when she is singing about love, romance and relationships, her lyrics are valid and it doesn’t come across as a weak young thing asking a boy to love her. She allows herself to be vulnerable in her words yet so empowered by the music surrounding them. Regardless of lyrics, her overall songwriting and production, with a decent range of instruments at her disposal, is what makes each of these 4 songs compelling in their own right.

I thought Wars is a good opener, at first it seems pretty low key, that being said I don’t entirely comprehend how she put together all those layers to build with an atmospheric drum and bass track and keep a rock feel underneath with her guitar. Its a pretty bold choice. Where as current single Run focuses a lot more on the build up of those angsty and ambiguous lyrics revolving around tumultuous relationships. I can see why this is one of her more popular tracks. The song is massive and distinguishes her sound.

Away introduces layer after layer of off beat drums and atmospheric guitar ringing throughout against a kinda hazy psychedelic vocal track, fading unassumingly into Make it Go Away, which is currently my stand out track. With unexpected time signatures, stunning androgynous harmonies and a dynamic drum track. Her breathless poetic vocals fall off so effortlessly that I’m clambering for the repeat button.
The Run EP is really a delightfully melancholy journey. I was drawn in by the calibre and variety of the songs and I’ve now found myself singing the songs to myself and finding deeper meaning in the lyrics. I implore you to do the same.

Listen to the Run EP here: