Elizabeth and the Catapult

New York's Elizabeth & the Catapult focuses on the songwriting talents of Elizabeth Ziman, whose perceptive indie pop makes room for Brill Building influences, coffeehouse folk, and piano jazz. They made their major-label debut as a trio with Taller Children in 2009. Operating as a duo but recording with such guests as Blake Mills and Gillian Welch, the project released the Leonard Cohen-inspired The Other Side of Zero in 2010. Going forward as a collaborative solo project, Ziman landed on the Billboard Americana/folk chart with 2014's Like It Never Happened. Elizabeth & the Catapult's fifth studio album, 2021's sincerely, e, was a topical work recorded at home while sheltering from the COVID-19 virus. An active musician since childhood, Ziman trained as a classical pianist until the age of 16, and was studying composition at the Berklee College of Music when Patti Austin visited the campus to recruit singers. Ziman won a spot in her touring lineup in 2002, singing background vocals for the soul legend for the next 18 months. After returning to New York in 2004, she began piecing together a trio to showcase her own songs. With drummer Danny Molad and guitarist Peter Lalish on board, Elizabeth & the Catapult released a self-titled EP two years later, having recorded and produced the music themselves. After establishing a D.I.Y. ethic and attracting attention from (but never signing with) several major labels, the band inked a contract with Verve Records in 2008. Elizabeth & the Catapult then traveled to Nebraska, where they set up shop inside Mike Mogis' Omaha studio. Taking inspiration from the serene surroundings, the band pounded out an album's worth of material at a quick pace before returning to New York. The resulting record, Taller Children, marked their major-label debut in June 2009. One year later, Ziman and Molad returned with a second LP, The Other Side of Zero, whose dark humor was largely inspired by Leonard Cohen's Book of Longing. Guests on the album included co-producer Tony Berg, guitarist Blake Mills, yMusic's Rob Moose, and on the title track, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings. It debuted at number 24 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart. Elizabeth & the Catapult then parted ways with Verve, and Molad left the official lineup and joined Lalish in the indie pop group Lucius. Around this time -- partly for ease of transport -- Ziman took up the guitar and started a routine of busking at New York subway stops. She also began accumulating credits for work on documentary film and TV scores, including 2013's The Other Shore and The Republic of Two, both with writing partner Paul Brill. Among shows of her own, she toured as a member of Kishi Bashi's band in 2013. Both of Ziman's former bandmates contributed to her third album, Like It Never Happened, released on Thirty Tigers at the beginning of 2014. Her first record to feature songs written on guitar as well as piano, it cracked the Top 20 of Billboard's Heatseekers Albums and Americana/Folk Albums charts. Later that year, Ziman and band opened a show for her friend Sara Bareilles at Madison Square Garden. While working on material for her next album, she co-composed music for documentaries such as 2015's In My Father's House and 2016's Trapped, also with Brill. Elizabeth & the Catapult worked with Compass Records for 2017's Keepsake, which featured songs produced by Molad, Ziman, and Richard Swift, among others. The Catapult returned in 2021 with the self-produced sincerely, e. A pandemic-themed set, it was not only recorded in Ziman's living room during months spent sheltering from the COVID-19 virus but featuring songs about isolation, connective technology, and related anxieties. It featured long-distance appearances from Molad and Lalish (on "the muse"), Adam Minkoff, and others.
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