Elizabeth & The Catapult – Responsible Friend
Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Elizabeth & The Catapult releases her new album Responsible Friend via Compass Records.
Centered on themes of care, loss, and the responsibility of showing up for others and for oneself, the record unfolds against a backdrop of prolonged uncertainty.
“‘Responsible Friend’ is actually about being pretty irresponsible,” says Ziman. “It’s about hitting on a friend when you know you probably shouldn’t – it’s awkward, a little funny, and a little messy. A friendly public service announcement: don’t flirt with your friends… it rarely ends well.”
While the title track leans playful, it opens into a larger question at the heart of the album: what does it mean to show up for yourself, for friends, for family, for the world at large? How do you care for the ones you love without overstepping, or losing yourself in the process?
“I’m always asking myself how to care deeply about the state of things without completely burning out,” Ziman adds. “I want to be there for the ones I love, but I’m learning I can’t fix everything—or take away someone else’s pain. The best I can do is meet them where they are… and let that be enough.”
That realization: simple in theory, difficult in practice, became a throughline for the record. Written during a period marked by personal loss, a close friend living with long COVID, and the general weight of an increasingly overwhelming world, the songs sit in that uncomfortable space between wanting to help and having to step back. Moving between humor and grief, the album reflects what happens when care has limits. “Everyone I know is carrying a lot of heaviness, myself included,” she says. “Writing these songs was a way to slow down and figure out how to stay present, without getting swallowed by it. Whereas my last record was about being stuck and isolated, this one is about trying to catch up with the world and take everything on, even as it speeds past me in ways I can’t hold onto.”
Elizabeth & the Catapult will support Responsible Friend with a run of spring tour dates across the U.S. The tour begins April 8 at with a sold out show at Joe’s Pub in New York and includes stops in Annapolis, Philadelphia, Nashville, Los Angeles, Ojai, Berkeley, and Boston, with additional dates to be announced.
Upcoming Tour Dates
April 08 – New York, NY @ Joe’s Pub (SOLD OUT!)
April 10 – Annapolis, MD @ Rams Head Live (with David Wax Museum)
April 11 – Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
April 13 – Vienna, VA @ Venue TBA
April 17 – Nashville, TN @ Analog
April 24 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Café
April 26 – Ojai, CA @ Ojai Arts Underground
April 28 – Berkeley, CA @ Back Room Music
May 01 – Seattle, WA @Rabbit Box
May 17 – Exeter, NH @ The Word Barn
May 21 – Boston, MA @ Club Passim
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