Lizzie Esau

Elizabeth Jane Esau ( ; born November 17, 1999), better known as Lizzie Esau; is an English musician who began gigging and releasing music in 2020, usually in the indie rock or alternative rock genres. The daughter of Tim Esau of the band IQ, she has opened for Baby Queen, Beabadoobee, the Amazons, Upsahl, and Swim School. Her releases include "Bitter Weather", which went viral on TikTok, a cover version of the Yardbirds's version of "I'm a Man" recorded for the soundtrack of My Lady Jane, and the EPs Perspectives, Deepest Blue, Spilling Out The Truth. In addition, she is the subject of an article in The Courier that was shortlisted for Best Arts and Culture Piece at the 2023 Student Publication Association National Awards.

Life and career

1999–2022: Early life and Perspectives Elizabeth Jane Esau was born in November 1999 in London but grew up in Ryton, Tyne and Wear. Her mother is an artist and her father is Tim Esau, a member of IQ. She began writing poems aged five before diversifying into plays and studied architecture at Newcastle University. She played a socially distanced gig at Tyne Bank Brewery in September 2020.

Her first single, "Young Minds Run Blind", and written about her experiences of youth, while her second, "Haven't You Heard", was released in 2021, having taken several years to complete. That June, she released "What If I Just Kept Driving", a lo-fi bedroom pop track about using mundane tasks as coping mechanisms. She followed with her fourth single "Caffeine", an indie rock track about justifying decisions, and the alt-pop and hip-hop blend "Bitter Weather", which she wrote around the same time as "Caffeine"

2022–2023: Deepest Blue By the end of that month, she had appeared on Spotify's "Fresh Finds" playlist and had performed at Newcastle's "A Stone's Throw" festival and BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend. In August 2022, she performed at Newcastle's "Live At Central" beer garden, from which Finlay Holden of Clash opined that "Bitter Weather" and "The Enemy" were highlights. The following month, she released "Bleak Sublime", a track about an inability to replicate drunk euphoria while sober. In October 2022, Esau played "Left of the Dial" Festival in Rotterdam and Live at Leeds. The month after, she released "Stay on the Phone", an acoustic track about the various safety measures women take to preserve their safety while walking home at night and living in cities and about victimisation of abuse survivors. By the end of that year, she had supported Baby Queen, Beabadoobee, The Amazons, and Upsahl on tour. and began co-headlining a tour with George O'Hanlon. After signing to LAB Records, she released "Killer" in April, a track about her inner critic. In June, she provided backing vocals on Chloe and the Brainwaves's "Expensive Things", which she followed the month after with "Lazy Brain" and the EP Deepest Blue in July 2023, which featured "Roadkill". She then played a gig at The Louisiana in Bristol, with the bands Clemencie and Wynona supporting.

2024–present: Spilling Out the Truth In January 2024, she released "Impossible + Strange", an indie rock track about being made mentally ill by anticipation. In April, she released "Wait Too Late", a track about the environment she had previously opened several concerts with and had written around the time the Amazon rainforest was suffering from fires. She recorded the track at Somerton Castle, having aborted two previous attempts at recording the track as she felt unable to replicate her live sound in a studio. and played a set at Dot to Dot Festival.

In June 2024, Esau released "Cool", which discussed impostor syndrome. Later that month, she contributed a cover version of The Yardbirds's version of Bo Diddley's 1955 song "I'm a Man" to the soundtrack of My Lady Jane, a series about the 1553 Queen Lady Jane Grey. The song was one of nine cover versions on its soundtrack and had been specially commissioned for the series as its showrunners Gemma Burgess and Meredith Glynn were fans of bands of the British Invasion. Esau also played Glastonbury Festival that month, headlining the BBC Introducing stage. That October, she and the rock band Torus supported South Arcade on tour and released the EP Spilling Out the Truth, which took its name from how open its lyrics were. Spilling Out the Truth contained "She's a Scorpio", a track mostly written several years earlier and about her experiences of being gaslighted during a teenage relationship.

Artistry Esau's early works were inspired by Imogen Heap, while "Haven't You Heard" was inspired by Heap and by Phoebe Bridgers' "Kyoto". "Stay on the phone" was inspired by the murder of Sarah Everard and the activist speeches she heard while she was at university, and Wolf Alice, Beabadoobee, and Radiohead in January 2023, while her music was described as "alternative rock" by Graeme Smith of York Calling in April 2023 and by Kieran Rogers of Clout in January 2024.

Members Lizzie Esau – vocals, guitar

Live members Shaun "Chippy" Chipp – guitar Joe Bennison – bass Awards and accolades

Lists PublisherListicleYearResultRef.Dork"Hype List 2023"2022

Discography

Extended plays + List of EPs, with selected details Title Details Perspectives Released: 11 November 2022 Format: Digital download, streaming Deepest Blue Released: 21 July 2023 Format: Digital download, streaming Spilling Out The Truth Released: 11 October 2024 Format: Digital download, streaming, LP Label: LAB Records

Singles Title Year Album "Young Minds Run Blind" 2020 "Haven't You Heard?" 2021 "What If I Just Kept Driving" Perspectives "Caffeine" "Bitter Weather" "Shade of Green" 2022 "The Enemy" "Bleak Sublime"Deepest Blue "Stay on the Phone"Perspectives "Jellyfish"2023Deepest Blue "Killer" "Impossible + Strange"2024 Spilling Out The Truth "Wait Too Late" "Cool"

Other songs Title Year Album "I'm a Man" 2024My Lady Jane soundtrack

Other appearances Title Year Artist Album "Expensive Things"2023Chloe and the Brainwaves

Music videos Title YearRef. "What If I Just Kept Driving"2021 "Caffeine" "Bitter Weather" "Shade of Green" 2022 "The Enemy" "Bleak Sublime" "Stay on the Phone" "Jellyfish"2023 "Lazy Brain" "Cool"2024 "She's a Scorpio"

Tours

Supporting James Marriott – Bitter Tour (2023) Swim School – Seeing It Now Tour (2024)