Elizabeth Abby Ziman grew up in New York’s Greenwich Village, and it comes through in her music. Teaming up with guitarist Pete Lalish & drummer Danny Molad as Elizabeth & The Catapult, there’s a jazz and cabaret element to their debut LP, Taller Children, along with diva songstress, folk, country, pian-y, funk and more. Such a diverse array makes for something of a head-spinning disc, and some pieces & styles are superior to others, but it’s an accomplished record.
Yet somewhat of a front-loaded one – though that depends on your taste, and your mood. The catchy up-jazz rhythm & flow of leadoff tracks “Momma’s Boy” & “Taller Children” are easy to love, but if you want stripped and sad, look to near the end, with the penultimate “Golden Ink” & “Just In Time”. However, it’s a little difficult to think that anyone wants both. And those are just the near-bookends of Taller Children, which also has the orchestral, Francophile expanse & sway on “Rainiest Day of Summer” & “Apathy”, and dancehall upbeat cabaret in “The Hang Up” & closer “Perfectly Perfect”. Meanwhile, the back half has a funky swinger (“Hit the Wall”), diva-vox smooth (“Right Next To You”) & percussive (“Everybody Knows”), and even a down-home alt-country/folk (“Complimentary Me”) – one right after another. It’s hard to find fault with any piece, in and of itself, but it’s also hard to be in the mood for all of them at once.
Though recorded & produced with Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, M. Ward, Rilo Kiley), Taller Children came from home demos Ziman made herself. Greenwich Village has been home to a lot of different sounds over the years, and you can’t blame Ziman for being inspired by seemingly all of them. Just hopefully on the next Elizabeth & The Catapult album, she’ll narrow her aim down some – and in the direction you want.
MP3 Stream: "Momma’s Boy"
– Anna Vesely
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