Liz Cass – The Words

The Words is the debut album from Londoner Liz Cass, who has a background as a choral scholar and guest vocalist on dance tracks. Opening track Confessional was produced by David Wrench, producer for artists such as Frank Ocean, Goldfrapp and FKA Twigs to name but a few. That would suggest this album has an eye on the big time. It is certainly polished: every track is glittery, 80s-inflected synth-pop. The sound is a little like Christine and the Queens, while Cass’s voice has the smooth soprano shimmer of Sade or Jessie Ware.

For an record coming in at nearly 43 minutes, with 12 tracks, the songs are all a little too one-note – a pretty and elegant waft of homogeneity. It might be that the sound is a little too refined – if the slick production is the first thing you notice, rather than the tune, that suggests the tune is lacking some urgency. One song is called Human, which is a bold choice, considering the fairly recent juggernaut of the same name by Rag’n’Bone Man. That tune is so undeniable that surely anything going by the same name will suffer by comparison. 

Cass’s voice is flawless on every track. Dust is the highlight of the album: “If we’re only dust, why does this hurt so much?”, it asks. A breakdown in the middle part of the song where the artist’s vocal is layered is beautiful, and more of that choral style coming to the fore would have been welcome. Things pick up after that. Next track Wired has a menacing intro, then hears Cass chastise a reluctant lover: “You’re so scared of intimacy/ You don’t trust what you feel/ When you feel it for me.”

The Words is a nice piece of heartfelt pop but it would have been good to hear Cass’s vocal range stretched a bit further. There isn’t a song that you simply must repeat, that gives you a craving, moreish feeling. The word that springs to mind on listening to this record is “polite”.

Jessica Wall

The Words is released on 11^th November 2022. For further information or to order the album visit Liz Cass’s website here.

Watch the video for the single Dust here: