I enjoyed the indie era that peaked in 2008, when the economy made everyone quite sad and only Baked by Melissa cupcakes and happy-sounding music could sate our millennial anxieties. Never you mind that the cupcakes were mid and the music masked the strained fear behind the lyrics. Feist? MGMT? She & Him? Pumped Up Kicks? It behooves you to return to that music for a second listen, if you forgot the darkness hidden there.
Anyhow, Brooklyn’s Elizabeth and the Catapult channel that energy in their new single “Responsible Friend”. It’s the title track from the band’s sixth album, released on April 3rd, and while it might suggest the whole album carries that peppy vibe, it only offers a taste of the record’s musical range. Elizabeth Ziman – the namesake of the band – has decades of songwriting experience under her belt, having toured and collaborated with the great Sara Bareilles, Gillian Welch, Ben Folds, and so on. (Speaking of Sara Bareilles: If you’re a fan of hers and itching for more of her music, you will like Responsible Friend.)
Responsible Friend acts as a compilation of previously unreleased and reworked material, giving the new album peaks and valleys when it comes to style and mood. Ziman’s tracks are both tender and thunderous; some of them sound more indie folk while others sound more pop. But throughout the album, Ziman’s wit and vulnerability shine.
The album, as its Bandcamp page describes, is “about the ways in which we show up for one other… Some of the songs on Responsible Friend are joyful dedications; others feel more like letters Elizabeth wasn’t sure she wanted to send.” The title track might lean towards the latter: Despite its title, Ziman sings of the rather irresponsible act of hitting on a friend even when it’s surely a bad idea. It’s wonderfully written, but definitely the most peppy-sounding and silly of the tracks on the album. However, its accessibility might attract newcomers to Ziman’s music if they haven’t followed her long songwriting career.
But I enjoyed “Responsible Friend” quite a lot: It brought me back to being in high school, curled up in my bed on a Saturday, snacking on those dry cupcakes, fearing for my financial future, and wondering if I should call up my best friend to see what they were up to that night. Nothing much has changed since then.
Also, if you want a little more throwback energy, watch the music video for “Responsible Friend”, which includes paper cutouts and Ziman dancing in MacBook Photo Booth effects. We must not lose the fine art of the music video.
Written by Will Sisskind
