“If we were one of the bands playing in Twin Peaks, this would be the sound,” says Lizzie Edwards, frontwoman of Lizzie & The Makers, of their forthcoming sophomore LP, Dear Onda Wahl. Lizzie’s chatting with me via phone from a coffee house in Red Hook, Brooklyn. She tells me that the album — which follows 2015 debut album Fire from the Heart of Man and 2018 EP Meanwhile – was largely influenced by the moods of David Lynch, and the third season of Twin Peaks, in particular: “As far as our sound, we’ve come a long way, as far as genres. Fire From the Heart of Man was definitely Rock N’ Roll, the EP was a little more ethereal, and this new one is definitely kooky.” She also tells me that, however the band may evolve, it is always them: “I think we really strive to be ourselves and be authentic and write and sing with our true voices. We write songs that you might not always love. You might not love every song, but it’s important that we’re always being true to ourselves.”
The album does retain the ‘70s rock swagger the NYC band is known for, as can been heard on the first two singles, “Lover By Proxy” and “Mermaid.” “We’re also very influenced by Pink Floyd and ambient artists of the ’60s and ‘70s, and soul artists like Ann Peebles and Aretha Franklin,” Lizzie tells me. And when I ask her if she has a favorite sophomore album, she does admit to being a huge fan of music history’s greatest ’70 rock revivalists: “The Black Crowes probably. I have a Black Crowes tattoo [laughs]. I love them.” However, after stumbling to rack her head for other second LPs, she also admits to being a huge fan of some less obvious choices, as well: “Even though it’s not popular, I love Kate Bush’s second album, Lionheart. I’m kind of obsessed with her. And whatever PJ Harvey’s second album is [It’s Rid of Me], probably [laughs]. I’m obsessed with her, too… Sorry I’m bad at remembering albums [laughs].”
Dear Onda Wahl was co-produced by legendary guitarist/producer Reeves Gabrels, currently of The Cure and formerly of Tin Machine and David Bowie fame. The guitarist was brought in by Edwards and Makers guitarist and co-writer Greg McMullen for an additional perspective and the three became fast friends, albeit Edwards and McMullen are no less fans since forming the relationship: “What we were looking for was another voice, a different perspective, someone to tell us to go left when we were going right… Now, it’s so weird, because we have Reeves reaching out to Greg between tours with The Cure and being like, ‘Would you want me to come and play with you?’ and it’s like ‘Yes!’ We’ll be playing with him at Bowery Electric in July.”
Lizzie Edwards has a handful of upcoming New York area shows, including solo shows, shows with Greg, and full-band shows. She’s also already played a few shows recently, which she says were really something special: “I did play a couple of shows at the Cutting Room; it was crazier than normal. The place was packed. Both were sold out and people were dancing and sweating like crazy.” Although there aren’t currently any dates outside of New York, Lizzie tells me that she does hope and plan to bring the band out on the road in the near future, explaining to me that live and in-person is the best way to experience Lizzie & The Makers: “Everything we do is really organic, from how we write them, to how we teach the band to play them, to playing live, and these songs really come to life how we perform them live.”
