Brooklyn darlings Elizabeth & the Catapult announce East Coast dates supporting
their sophomore effort The Other Side of Zero - out now via Verve Forecast.
Elizabeth & the Catapult sat down for a chat and played a very special,
“If I had to compare our albums,” says Elizabeth Ziman, the singer/songwriter/keyboardist behind Elizabeth & the Catapult, “I’d say Taller Children has the sarcastic lightness of a Woody Allen film, and the new record’s more like Kubrick or Lynch—a little darker, a little more tongue-in-cheek.”
Not that any of these shifts are a surprise. After all, Elizabeth learned how to manipulate moods through music at an early age, whether that meant performing a wildly-expressive piano piece or belting out bizarre harmonies in New York’s world-renowned Young People’s Chorus.
And now this: The Other Side of Zero, an Elizabeth & the Catapult album that started with a Lincoln Center song cycle—performed last spring after a commission from NPR’s John Schaefer—and a cover-to-cover study of Leonard Cohen’s Book of Longing collection. As the latter’s pages sunk in, Elizabeth couldn’t help but draw parallels between Cohen’s failure to meet Buddhist goals in a monastery and her own coming-of-age struggles in the big city. (The New York native grew up in the heart of Greenwich Village.)
She also wrote Elizabeth & the Catapult’s rawest set of recordings yet, including the clanging chords and galloping groove of “The Horse and the Missing Cart,” the sputtering, string-grazed percussion of “You and Me,” “We All Fall Down, the Buddhist twist on a classic love song, “Julian Darling,” a wake up call to a friend and the hopeful but heartbroken contrasts of “Thank You For Nothing.” And then there’s the title track. Led by a lean, winding piano line, it builds to a spine-tingling crescendo alongside the honey-dipped harmonies of Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings—a collaboration that was completely unplanned. Not that you’d notice, considering how seamless it sounds.
Unlike their thoroughly-demoed debut—an album that took two years to complete—the Zero sessions boiled down to a month of recording with producer Tony Berg (Peter Gabriel, Phantom Planet, Jesca Hoop) and such respected sidemen as guitarist Blake Mills and Tom Waits’ longtime touring keyboardist, Patrick Warren. The result was rough but refined, bruised but beautiful, as if Berg had placed a mic in a room and walked away, letting Elizabeth and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Danny Molad do their thing.
As Molad puts it, “The record is more blatantly honest, even rude at times..." Elizabeth continues, "Even the happiest sounding pop songs on this record have a tinge of regret and darkness to them…And thank goodness for that. Ultimately that’s the only way I’d feel comfortable singing them. I’m drawn to the ambiguity like a menacing smile.”
Press Loves "The Other Side of Zero"
The Boston Globe
Take a clear and powerful voice, add a memorable melody and set it to unique, sophisticated harmonies, and what emerges is Elizabeth and the Catapult’s singular sound.
Citysearch
It’s the kind of lyric-driven, sweet and sometimes meloncholy folk-tinged piano pop that made Sara Bareilles, and also Anna Nalick, radio gold.
WNYC
Listeners may hear echoes of a long string of talented female singer/songwriters - from Carole King to Cat Power, but Elizabeth and The Catapult have developed an unusual sound, built around Ziman's own voice and piano.
The Roundtable
We’re currently obsessed. You MUST give this group a listen – you will not regret it.
Baeble
"You and Me" - The song sounds like an ultra rock-y Sara Bareilles with a little bit of country and dance simultaneously mixed together, and catchy as hell. That sounds good, right?
Metromix
The standout track, “Go Away My Lover,” sounds like Regina Spektor as remixed by Animal Collective, with a lurching, tribal beat unlike anything else the band (or anyone, really) has ever done.
USA Today
Call what keyboardist/vocalist Elizabeth Zinnan and percussionist Danny Molad do chamber-pop, but the Brooklyn duo's best tunes are more like chamber-folk. Strings bring a tinge of regret to the Leonard Cohen-inspired Thank You for Nothing, and Go Away My Lover sounds like what might happen if M.I.A. got hold of some Harry Smith field recordings.
Alternate Root
The songs on ‘The Other Side of Zero’ share a rawness in form while the music bed varies…The instrumentation on the album is a melting pot of sounds and styles creating a niche for itself in an Indie Americana landscape.
Spin.com
Brooklyn chamber-poppers Elizabeth & the Catapult lace their levity with foreboding and undercut their sweeping melodies with gritted-teeth growls.
Tracer
Elizabeth & The Catapults’ second album is not only honest, it comes from a place of wisdom and bravery. It is the wise friend you can pop into your cd player, anytime, that doesn’t miss a beat and never lets you down.
Slant Magazine
Elizabeth and the Catapult's 2009 breakthrough song, "Taller Children," was a cheery bit of indie pop, and their new album, The Other Side of Zero, sees the Brooklyn trio keeping their technique cool, calm, and consistent.
Direct Current
As we've noted before, we worship at Ziman's heartbreaking ballad altar, and Zero delivers some of her finest yet including the spine-tingling piano confessional "Open Book", waltzing title track and the glistening "Thank You for Nothing." "Even the happiest sounding pop songs on this record have a tinge of regret and darkness to them.
The Daily News
Indie pop outfits don't get very much better than Elizabeth & the Catapult. Featuring the powerhouse vocals of Elizabeth Ziman and the multiple skills of Danny Molad, the duo's status as one of the indie world's best, is cemented with the fantastic "The Other Side of Zero." This is an essential addition to your collection.
All Music Guide
Elizabeth Ziman could pass for Sara Bareilles’ twin -- both have strong alto voices, an “anything goes” approach to pop music, and the ability to turn heartbreak into something tuneful.
CTN Music
Keeping the melody light and breezy and the choruses repetitive and catchy, the songs of The Other Side of Zero alternate between triumphant indie-pop hooks and pensive piano ballads, powerful and languid at the same time.
Decoy
The production sparkles; the upbeat tracks are absolutely stuffed with layers of orchestration, keys and percussion; and the downbeat tracks are melodious and arresting. If Elizabeth & the Catapult made blue jeans, The Other Side of Zero would be Levi’s 501s—a classic, soon to be a staple in your music collection.
Owl Magazine
Uptempo-y Weepies vibe with a hint of Liz Phair. Feel good.
ESD Music
Best of all, as with all of Ziman’s work, there are elements of alternative, jazz, and pop – all with a rainy day feel running throughout, just the way she likes it.
