Sincerely, E

For the projects fifth release, Elizabeth & the Catapults Elizabeth Ziman delivers a rare full-fledged pandemic album. Released in March of 2021 after about a year of sheltering at home due to the COVID-19 virus(es), the 12-song set wasnt merely inspired by themes of isolation, hope (and hopelessness), and things like virtual connectivity, it dives into them with both feet, classically trained piano hands, and a heavy dose of no-nonsense wit. Recorded in her living room with long-distance contributions from friends including Adam Minkoff (bass, drums, backing vocals), sincerely, e kicks off with the cautionary birds and the bees. A song also concerned with ecological catastrophe, it opens the set with the words, Read the news in California, hope my familys okay.... After a melancholy intro, it launches into a section of frenetic piano playing under one of Zimans trademark lyrical vocal melodies before circling back again (Tell your mother not to visit/Theres no more use in going out). Its one of several self-referential songs on an album that finds Ziman talking about herself in the third person, writing about songwriting, and, in this case, mentioning later track together, alone. Arguably a centerpiece of the album, the sparse and theatrical together, alone explores a life lived largely through messaging and social media (I am just phoning it in/Quite literally....Im talking without speaking/Together, alone). Despite the circumstances, however, her songs have a reliably timeless quality, and she touches upon doo wop (sha-la-la), melodically complex, Bacharach-like balladry (this rose comes to life), and almost Chopin-esque Romantic song (apocalypse in A major). Elsewhere, the unlove song the muse follows in the footsteps of Youre So Vain with its intentionally -- cathartically -- unnamed antagonist. (That track features former Catapult bandmates Dan Molad and Pete Lalish.) Still, even the horny, clap-along jaunt thirsty is ultimately about isolation. I once wrote a song to the sound of your heartbeat....Do you remember the feeling? ~ Marcy Donelson