In the winter of 2016, Lizzie Weber moved to the small Washington town of Anacortes, on Fidalgo Island, an hour south of Canada, which marks the port of the San Juan Islands. The diverse inhabitants of the small coastal town include locals, transplants, and military families; Lizzie's partner, a fighter pilot, was stationed out of Naval Air Station, Whidbey Island.
Anacortes' long, rainy winters and epic natural beauty helped inspire a transformative experience, she says, forcing her to confront her own insecurities and loneliness and to fully commit to her path as an artist, ultimately inspiring her new album, Fidalgo.
“I challenged myself to release the pressure people put on me to choose a traditional career path,” she says. “I fell in love with my now-husband, but lived through long periods of isolation while he was away on deployments.”
The lush, layered album is “my exploration of life’s rhythm through sound,” says the critically-beloved singer-songwriter, whose work has been compared to Natalie Merchant, Stevie Nicks, and Fiona Apple.
Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Lizzie released her self-titled debut album in 2014, while studying journalism at Washington University. The work won accolades from outlets including Huffington Post, and best music video from North Caroline’s Reel Teel Film Festival. “[A] confessional record, but one that is very well handled, never straying into the over-dramatic,” wrote No Depression, “but instead honing in on a sound which is personal, powerful, and, at times, perfect.”
A year later she graced the cover of St. Louis weekly Riverfront Times, and soon composed music for the documentary Caffeinated. The song, “Vida Cafeinada,” is sung in English and Spanish, and features lyrics by her father, John Schranck.
In 2015, Lizzie released her self-produced rendition of Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box,” and began working with Grammy-award-winning producer Sheldon Gomberg (Ben Harper, Rickie Lee Jones). This collaboration led to 2016’s “Love Again,” a collaboration with her brother, John Schranck Jr., who is responsible for the lush, orchestral arrangements. “I love artists who can show what is under the surface in magnetic and captivating ways, with little left to the listener's imagination,” she says.
In 2018, Lizzie traveled to Iceland to collaborate with the Academy Award-winning artist Marketa Irglova (The Swell Season/Once), where they produced and recorded "River" and "Free Floating,” which earned praise from by Glide Magazine. Seattle Weekly premiered Lizzie's three-song EP, You that year, noting: "Most singer-songwriters can pen a halfway decent breakup tune, but it takes a deft touch to craft aching odes to relationships’ ends while still maintaining a composed confidence devoid of melodrama.”
“Through songwriting, I have found a direct pathway to the depths of my subconscious mind,” Lizzie says. “I can't always articulate the truest part of my thoughts or feelings on a conscious level, but I can through song.”
The pandemic brought Lizzie back to St. Louis, her hometown. She calls the release of Fidalgo — her new album’s title-track, and the first song she wrote when she arrived in Anacortes — “a truly full circle moment. When I listen to it now, I can hear the internal plea, asking to let go and trust myself.”
“Here I am many years later, still making my own way, staying true to the path I set out to follow,” she says.
Fidalgo is set for a 2023 release, with the title-track out now.
