Catch up with New York-based singer-songwriter Liz Brennan and listen to single "Expected To Fly" off her upcoming EP.
What got you interested in music and in songwriting?
Liz: I guess it's always been something I've done. I've been singing my whole life and been trained in singing my whole life, but I've just always really loved rock music and so I just wanted to start writing my own things and I started doing that, like, five years ago.
Do you remember the first song you wrote?
Well, I wrote weird little jingles almost [laughs] growing up, but the first real song I wrote is this song called "Maroon Bells" which will never see the light of day [laughs].
Which musicians have you been influenced by?
Stevie Nicks is probably my main, most consistent influence. I love Stevie Nicks but also love a lot of the greats like Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Meat Loaf - 'cause I like the theatrical storytelling in music - and David Bowie. Those have been pretty big influences.
How would you describe your sound to someone who had never heard your music before?
I call it demented pop, because I have some pretty out there songs, myself. Someone last night said something interesting about it, he said it kind of sounded like Lana Del Rey if she could take the punches [laughs] which I thought was a funny way of describing it. It's hard to describe your own music.
What were your inspirations behind your single "Expected To Fly"?
I wanted to write a Summer anthem story so I wanted to tell it in a big way, but it's a story about growing up and losing friends and changing and trying to hold on to the parts of yourself that you don't want to change, so that's what the song is about.
Could you tell us more about your upcoming EP?
Yeah, I did an EP with Kevin Killen and he's a really great producer - he did Peter Gabriel's SO album and he actually just did the Blackstar album by David Bowie, he engineered and mixed that. I'm putting the EP he did out pretty soon, but I'm also recording a new album with some of those songs re-recorded differently.
Do you have a favorite song from the album or EP that you're most excited to share with fans?
Well, this song ["Expected To Fly"] I'm probably most excited about, but some new ones that I am writing now - they're not totally recorded, we just started recording them, so I don't know what the finals product's going to sound like [laughs] - but I'm pretty much just as excited about the songwriting for some of the newer songs coming out.
How would you sum up your upcoming EP in one sentence?
It is an eclectic story-telling that's a little bit over-the-top, like I have songs that are like, are you taking me into the woods to kill me or just showing me the views; so they're all big statement songs that I just had a lot of fun writing and they're all in the rock world, but over-the-top storytelling.
What do you hope listeners are able to take away from your music?
I just wanted to make something very relatable for people; telling very specific stories but leaving it open enough for people to put their own feelings and experiences into it, but coming at it from a unique way of telling it.
Is there anything you want to add?
I have a few music videos coming out soon which I'm also excited about. I worked with this Spanish director who's completely crazy and out of her mind [laughs] but she's a lot of fun, so I have 3 other videos actually coming up in the next month or so, so you can check back for those, as well.