by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
When the days begin to run you ragged and stress feels unavoidable, you can always turn to the music of Liza Victoria aka Lisa/Liza for an escape parts gentle, understanding, and beautiful. Listening to Portland, Maine singer/songwriter’s music is an instant salve, alleviating all worries with minimalist folk and warmly psychedelic Americana songs. Her writing is personal, enamored with a sense of community, a scenic soundtrack that wisps like the wind, highlighted by Victoria’s always stunning vocal performances, caught in open spaces and resonating with an emotional grace. Her words can sit heavy at times but the performances are a comfort, a lullaby that cuts through the noise. Set to release her new album Breaking And Mending via Orindal Records (Macie Stewart, Dear Nora, Karima Walker) on April 28th, it’s an album that feels one with nature, a record that shines like the sun cutting through the tallest of trees, soft and reflective, like the ripples of a stone skipping through a pond.
The record’s lead single is “Held Together,” a song that reads like a personal recolection, a letter to self, a gentle reminder to stay afloat even as things are tough. There’s a whole world out there, changing seasons, growth and bloom, and feelings that will eventually come and go. The soft acoustic guitar is played with undeniable emotion, with strums alternating between gentle touches and more immediate finger picking. It’s beautiful in the way that all Lisa/Liza songs are. We all struggle, but we’re not alone. Victoria’s voice is your favorite blanket, her words a dissociation from troubles, deciding instead to focus on the beauty of her surroundings, to put her mind at ease. It’s a welcome respite.
Speaking about the album, Victoria shared:
“I wrote many of these songs working through heavy aspects of living with chronic illness. Recovering and then not knowing when I would have to be strong again. Feeling alone and fighting that loneliness with every resource I had the energy to collect. Music was a friend to me during this, and I know it will continue to be. The songs were often written in times when I felt well enough to write. Sometimes I was exhausted from these experiences and I wrote about what was on my mind. I was dealing with the heavy lifting of working through trauma at the same time. These songs were a result of those experiences. When I hear them, I think that maybe I put more of myself into these songs than I have into any other album. I am glad to hear that now. It feels very much like it captured my emotional landscape in the last two years.”
Upcoming Shows:
4/11 - Chattanooga, TN @ The Woodshop
4/12 - Atlanta, GA @ 529
4/13 - Athens, GA @ Buvez
4/14 - Greenville, SC @ Inchoate
4/15 - Columbia, SC @ The Addition
4/16 - Asheville, NC @ Static Age