Lizzie & The Makers Readies Electrifying Sophomore Album Dear Onda Wahl

Article Contributed by Reybee | Published on Thursday, September 23, 2021

“It’s almost like when we wrote these songs they went through a David Lynch portal, they came out a little bizarre,” says frontwoman Lizzie Edwards on the creation of Lizzie & The Makers’ sophomore album Dear Onda Wahl announced for release on November 5, 2021 [independently] and produced by acclaimed producers Reeves Gabrels (David Bowie, Tin Machine) and Mario J. McNulty (David Bowie, Prince). Infusing elements of art-rock, dream-pop, and a celestial atmosphere, Lizzie & The Makers has spawned something entirely their own. “Though influenced by traditional music genres, we were also heavily influenced by David Lynch and [his acclaimed TV series] Twin Peaks in writing this album. So, there is always a little bit of old and familiar mixed with alien, fantasy and the unexpected in our music.” The band will support the release of the album with a record release show on Wednesday, November 10th at NYC's The Cutting Room.

Recorded at Mission Sound Recording in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Dear Onda Wahl threads rootsy, shoegazey, and psychedelic layers throughout its core. Guitarist and Edwards’ songwriting partner Greg McMullen says, “The textures are lusher on Dear Onda Wahl. We were allowed to layer things, and this time in the studio, we actually experimented so much more than we have in the past.” Edwards adds, “There’s a lot of little outer-space, edgy weird sounds incorporated into this record that we didn’t completely embrace on previous records and, in general, we just evolved as songwriters.”

Ahead of this sophomore studio album announcement, Lizzie & The Makers had released two singles - the rootsy spellbinding ethereal tune “Mermaid” which American Songwriter called "an enchanting dip into bluesy synth-pop waters" and, more recently, the blues rock stomper "Lover By Proxy" which Glide Magazine highlights the “Led Zeppelin-esque bluesy guitar riff and Edwards’ electrifyingly soulful vocals.”

Elsewhere on the upcoming album, there’s the sultry bluesy reverberation of "Magic River" for which Edwards penned the melody for after a post-Whitesnake listening binge. There’s a grimy, hard hitting rock track ("Bottle"), which Edwards says is about “being a woman in the rock/blues genre and in music and the word in general", a bouncy rock love-hate letter (“Les Idiots”) to certain “characters” posing in her hometown, NYC's East Village, and a haunting and cathartic groovy, slow rock jam ("Waiting For The Teeth”) about healing. The curiously named title track "Dear Onda Wahl" is a play on words that refers to a metaphorical letter she wrote to a mounted hunting trophy at the bar where she worked, i.e "Deer On The Wall", "Dear Onda Wall." A funky number that was written during a slow workday behind the bar, Edwards gazed at the mounted deer head asking it for love advice: “Deer on the wall, what’s the point of it all?" The forlorn tune "Tell Her” is a contrasting musical companion of sorts to the more playful "Lover By Proxy” that highlights Edwards heartfelt, nuanced vocal tone, influenced by Memphis soul legend Ann Peebles, Heart’s Wilson sisters, Alison Mosshart of The Kills and Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee. The haunting, seven-minute closing track “Mojo Hand” is soaked in McMullen’s borderline sci-fi sonic sorcery and Edwards’ enunciated occultic metaphors; producer Reeves Gabrels also contributed to the track, adding to the otherworldly vibe.

“The most exciting thing about working on recording the album was the music and the people themselves," comments Gabrels. "Lizzie is a distinctive singer and she and Gregg McMullen are great songwriters with a sense of rock tradition and a willingness to push the music forward.” McNulty chimes in saying, “I truly hope that listeners can hear the talent in these songs and the performances of the entire ensemble. Lizzie’s voice is rich with so much musical history and subtly nodding in different directions… the band is exceptional.”