Album Review: Lizzy Farrall - 'Bruise'

As humans, we love a good box. Something to catalogue and define the world around us. Sexuality, gender, genres – anything to help make sense of very confusing realities. But do we really need them? Isn’t it more fun to just be, exist without limitations?

Lizzy Farrall does just that on genre-fluid debut album ‘Bruise’– exist. Each song in a different soundsphere; some taking on more poppy colours, à la Kim Petras (‘Yellow Paint’), others waving the alternative flag of guitar heavy rhythms (‘Games’) or wearing a technicolour dream coat of warped synths creating an irresistibly haunting atmosphere (‘Knocked For a Six’). What ties the album together are Lizzy’s distinctively enchanting vocals that guide the way through its musical waters, effortlessly switching between emotions and capturing attention from the very first second. 

The themes are painfully relatable. In poetic lyrics ‘Bruise’ speaks to lost souls and broken hearts telling stories of falling in and out of love, being left behind and replaced, of unhealthy obsession and unbearable loneliness. In short, it covers the ups and downs of human relationships and leaves nothing unsaid. 

‘Bruise’ is a heartbreak record with killer hooks and infectious melodies. As a debut album, it covers a lot of ground, showcasing Lizzy Farrall’s unbound potential to create anything she sets her mind to and puts her on the map as a force to be reckoned with.  

Words by Laura Freyaldenhoven

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