Indie artist Layzi’s second EP, in between, has only succeeded at pushing her further into the stratosphere, opening for bands like HUNNY and Glass Beams. Her comforting falsetto eases listeners into a false sense of security until the emotional lyrics settle in. In her social media announcements of this project, she reveals the inspiration as a “mentally taxing” breakup, making the hazy EP an audio representation of the stages of grief and longing.
We start with “eventually,” a groovy earworm that longs for the beginning of this failed relationship. Layzi “think[s] of” the subject “all day,” letting her voice drift off dreamily. But this track, paired with the lo-fi music video, starts to lay the foundations of the relationship’s toxicity that prompted in between. Its shadowy visuals cement the song’s place as a hopeful retrospective, showing Layzi’s face on various TV screens throughout her house. Her moody facial expressions and the soft-spoken lyrics—such as “should be laying with you right next to me / I’ll get there eventually”—seem to wish for nothing more than the perfect romance she describes, but on some level she knows that’s not what she currently has. Little happens through the video outside the screens, besides at one point Layzi herself making an appearance off of them. She opens the fridge a mini TV is placed in, rummaging around before grabbing a tupperware out and closing the door on her face. It increases the liminal, isolated feeling she tries to depict throughout the project of her side of the relationship.
“too high” continues on the reminiscing train, although it’s much more aware of the relationship in question’s issues. As the title suggests, Layzi will do just about anything to not think about this reality. The instrumentals are heady, swirling around the lyrics like a puff of smoke filling her head and clouding her vision. In the retro music video, which features an early 2000s mall aesthetic that adds to the nostalgic tone, the line “If I can’t feel my face is that enough to erase all the feelings that I’d rather hide” is accompanied by a shot of Layzi playing different instruments, the camera flowing around her like a fog. As the main couple plays a claw machine, she wistfully debates if she wants the relationship to end.
On “the other side”, her mind has decidedly been made up, but her heart is still unruly. The lyrics are firm and unyielding — ”I don’t think it’s right, you wasted all my love and my time” — and listeners can tell that this is the artist deciding to end things. But the second half of the song struggles with all the reasons the artist couldn’t do so in the first place, like not knowing how to live alone anymore and their easy comfort together. The sound mixing seems to align with this interpretation, as the lyrics are pitched up higher than usual, blending in with the instruments. It feels almost like the words are hiding from the listeners, and most importantly, the singer’s ex. She doesn’t know how to confront him with this.
In this dissection of heartbreak, “whenurgone” is probably the simplest. At this point, Layzi’s partner is gone. Even if they return, it’s at the worst of times, like “when [she] start[s] healing.” In the moments when they see each other, she feels like a castmate, exemplifying the emotional barrier between them. The instrumentals are simple, too—a comforting guitar line and bursts of synths complimenting the lyrics. As Layzi repeats “When you’re gone it feels like I stop… breathin’, b-breathin’,’” the music swells around the line, then quickly pulses out.
“in between” places Layzi in as convoluted a mental state as when she began. She still seems very in between this relationship and the rest of her life, struggling to let go. The much more rock-inspired guitar shows this, growing more intense as the lyrics get more and more pessimistic—“I’d take it all back if I could… before I got too deep.” While at the beginning of the EP, all Layzi wanted to do was stay in the memories of this relationship forever, she now realizes how unsustainable that is. One day she may be able to look back on it with fond memories, but all she wants now is to leave it in the past. The anger that comes out here is short-lived, though, as the final song leaves us off in an at least more stable place.
After experiencing all of the stages of grief, where is one left? The reflective track “i wonder” answers as honestly as possible—“staring at the bathroom floor.” The anger has faded, leaving a tired resignation to how often this breakup will always be on the artist’s mind. The slow instrumentals merge the heavier guitar tracks with in between‘s earlier songs’ smooth synth, creating a half-baked mix of emotions demonstrating how recent the breakup still feels. While listening, I couldn’t help but drift away and remember many of my failed relationships, romantic or otherwise. It’s raw for a reason, encouraging listeners to wonder back on their own heartaches.
