Lizzie Esau: "Maybe I'm saying things that people will hate. I don't care"

LIZZIE ESAU's journey to a dynamic force on the UK music scene embodies the fiery transition of turning a passion into a life's work, fueled by relentless touring, evolving musicality, and the unyielding desire to stay authentic. With her new single, 'Wait Too Late', out now, she's embracing the uncomfortable, powered by a community that thrives on genuine expression. Read and listen with our latest Hype playlist cover feature.

Words: Finlay Holden.
Photos: Richard Mukuze.

With many successes already under her belt, Newcastle-based singer-songwriter Lizzie Esau is only growing more confident with her musical identity. Having dropped her debut EP amidst a hectic festival season last year, Lizzie and her close-knit band have been busy touring those tunes around the UK while working on the bones of a new project. Taking her music from a small hobby to a growing commitment, this last year has been a fiery induction.

"That is exactly what I wanted!" she declares. "For so long, nobody was around me pursuing music, and I felt like I kept that part of me separate from everything else - you're always told that you need to build a plan B. Now, I've made this my whole life, and that's all I wanted. In terms of a balanced workload or switching off, I just don't," she laughs, "but I love it, and it's never a chore."

Sharing her talents far and wide, Lizzie is no longer creating in isolation. With a great team around her, she has explored a huge range of tones – from the haunting tension of fan-favourite 'Bleak Sublime' to the cathartic chorus of 'Roadkill' – while maintaining a grounded consistency. As she puts it, "I've got loads of people around me that just get it."

That has never been as important as with her delightfully heavy new single, 'Wait Too Late', which mixes droning synths and screeching guitars with relentless layers of rhythm and an excellent vocal top line. Fans who've seen Esau perform will instantly be familiar with the track, but nailing the final recording proved no easy feat.
"I can't think of a single show we've played where we haven't opened with 'Wait Too Late'," Lizzie starts to reflect. "We've played it for years as a band and worked on it together for a long time. I brought it in as a demo years ago, and we rerecorded it later on, but it's disheartening when you can't recreate that live energy on a recording, especially when you have such a relationship with the track. We were terrified to touch it again, but now was the time, and we weren't gonna half-arse it."

Taking a third and final swing at the heavy hitter, the four-piece capitalised on a weekend residential opportunity at Somerton Castle with long-time producer Steve Grainger and studio engineer Oli Porter to knuckle down and capture the intensity they needed while also bringing a refreshed perspective to the core elements.

"We nailed the drums on the first night, laid up guitars in the morning… Overall, it was like 48 hours of intense focus, which is unusual for us," she reveals. "It's the most time per track that we've ever had. If any song needed that time and love and deserved it after the years, it was this one. I also adlibbed on the chorus and came up with a second hook, or rather, divine intervention handed it to me a week before the final mix."

Trying new approaches right up until the very end and repeatedly testing out opposing production decisions was undeniably worth the investment, with the final result encapsulating that excitement of a live unit rushing on stage and instantly leaping into a loud and vibrant performance. "We've been working on this for years, so it is a big moment and one of the most meaningful releases to us as a band."

Previous single 'Impossible & Strange' fused the melodic charm of early discography cuts with a newfound scope and sense of dynamics that paved the path for 'Wait Too Late''s "punky, in-your-face" instrumentals, serving as a transition point into a new era while still nailing an identifiable, genre-crossing sonic fingerprint.

The desperate lyrical content of the song certainly warrants its aggressive leanings. "We're killing off the wildlife, and we're emptying the seas, to fill them with bodies who longed for shores they'd never reach," Lizzie sings, vocalising her biggest frustrations about the modern world and the emotions that surface the more she thinks about it.

"Sometimes I feel so small, insignificant and helpless," she admits. "It's so easy to watch the news and feel your heart shatter. You want to just run out there and hug people, but you can't. I'm so overwhelmed by the awfulness of everything going on, and it makes me feel so powerless. That then flips to me being angry - angry at myself for not doing anything about it, and angry at the people with more power for not using it."

The singer is passionate about several topics, particularly "the multiple wars going on right now, poverty and starvation impacting millions across the world, choices made by our government that damage the environment and people within it. Honestly, there are so many tragedies occurring that it's hard to believe we're all just okay with it. There are so many things you can do, so many charities you can help do their amazing work, but it is also so easy to just be stunned and overwhelmed by it all."

'Wait Too Late' serves as a wake-up call for those who are spiralling, a reminder for the inundated; acknowledgement is a good first step. "These are uncomfortable things to talk about, but I live in a nice flat and have access to food, water, and heating. I'm not on the streets, and I'm not getting bombed. If it's uncomfortable for me, then so what? That discomfort is incomparable to those living through these things. We have this fear of talking about stuff that we might not understand or have the answers to, but just raising the questions and putting them in front of people is a start."

"Music is a great way for me to process things," she continues. "It's the only thing I feel I have control of; this is how I can contribute. I want to be educated, so this is me questioning myself as well." Although Lizzie is always open to self-improvement, she is also steadfast in her beliefs. "Maybe I'm saying things that people will hate. They might disagree with me, they might feel attacked. I don't care. I feel so strongly about it, and when you're putting yourself out there with authenticity, what's the worst that could happen? If you disagree with this song, then I disagree with you; it's that simple. I'm learning not to be afraid of my own opinions."

Besides demanding action from the Tory government, Lizzie is also demanding it from herself. Past efforts like 'Lazy Brain' have revealed a tendency to pick away at her own mind, but this is turning into a strength. "I'm very self-critical, which I think makes me self-aware. I hope I'm critical to the point where I can identify where there's room to grow. I find empowerment through meeting like-minded people when what I'm saying connects with others. I've already found so many people who think and feel the same way, and the stronger the opinion you share, the stronger the connection you make with your community."

That community is always building momentum, with crowds growing and rooms regularly filling up with dedicated fans. "I don't know what I've done to deserve such genuinely lovely people deeply getting the music," Lizzie remarks. "Someone took a jellyfish I drew on a show set list and got it tattooed! That's dedication. How moved must you be to connect with a song so much that you need it with you forever?"

Reaching new heights on upcoming material, a second project is on the horizon and will be pre-empted by a support tour alongside Dork Hype List alumni and Lizzie's self-declared inspiration Swim School. All of this is to say that Lizzie has brought music into her life, and her life now revolves around music. "We're not reliant on anyone; we're doing it ourselves and keeping it authentic. But if our next release isn't the catchiest thing you've ever heard, I'll happily retire." ■