EP Review: Lizzie Reid – 'Cubicle'

Glaswegian singer songwriter Lizzie Reid tells a story of heartbreak, loss and longing on debut EP ‘Cubicle’.

“I will try not to laugh it off in solitude, but I don’t understand quite why you left.” 

Lizzie starts into the EP with gentle melancholy, a bittersweet tone that never quite fades throughout the course of the record. Across 6 beautifully crafted tracks, she reflects on what proved to be a formative summer; a time of healing that brought Lizzie closer to herself and her sexuality. 

At the same time vulnerable and fragile yet strong and confident, Lizzie’s rich, soulful vocals stretch across intimate folkscapes of swooning acoustic guitars and soothing melodies, drawing attention to her lyricism that is devastatingly poetic and always, always to the point. “It all went so wrong, a language of love got lost on us. Fortunately, our tearing at the seams has been seamless for you at least,” she sings on ‘Seamless’ putting into perspective the shattering heartbreak she was dealing with at the time. But the ‘Cubicle’ EP is not all sorrow and heartache. For every tale of loneliness, there is a more hopeful counterpart. Tender ballad ‘Company Car’ sees Lizzie recall the overwhelming kind of love she experienced in the wake of her first same-sex relationship and the stripped back atmosphere of title track ‘Cubicle’ ends the record with a sense of closure - “There’s something kind of sweet about being strangers again.”

With a collection of wonderfully emotive soundscapes, ‘Cubicle’ immediately draws you into its ambient depths. Lizzie’s pain is your pain, her loss is your loss, and her healing is your healing. This EP is an offering of hope and solace, and a worthy debut for an astonishing songwriter that we will hopefully hear much more of in the years to come. 

Words by Laura Freyaldenhoven

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