Upon first listen, singer-songwriter Eliza McLamb’s songs are shockingly soft, often featuring audible guitar plucking and clear vocals that sound like they could have been recorded next to you. In a sort of Generation Z folk style, McLamb combines an intimate sound with equally intimate storytelling, incorporating down-to-earth imagery of dorm dryers, apartment balconies and tattoos throughout her lyrics about love and self-discovery.
McLamb is certainly able to lean into her intellectual side with ease, giving social commentary on her podcast “Binchtopia” (2020–), writing essays on her Substack and sharing precise reflections in her lyrics. Still, she creates songs that hold reverence for emotions at their core.
McLamb, 22, has released music on streaming platforms since 2020, most recently her EP “Salt Circle” (2022). “Salt Circle”features an album cover with a salt circle around household items such as a crystal, a stuffed rabbit and McLamb’s two pet cats. In an interview with the Daily, McLamb discussed how the objects, which are real mementos from different times in her life, represent ways she has been able to create a sense of safety for herself. This self-acceptance is core to the arc of “Salt Circle,” according to McLamb, which follows her as she comes to accept being able to feel things deeply.
McLamb’s music encourages listeners to feel alongside the songwriter, something she was able to share with listeners who attended her Monday night performance at The Sinclair — her largest show yet.
McLamb opened the show with the angsty “Pulp” and sarcastic “Playhouse” off of “Salt Circle”; her band was onstage with her highlighting the groove of the songs’ guitar and bass riffs. With the crowd singing along, McLamb was able to channel some rock swagger throughout the first portion of her set.
But soon, McLamb’s band was kicked offstage, and she swapped her electric guitar for an acoustic, allowing the room to go quiet as she played songs like “Debt” (2020), a hushed breakup track, with the crowd echoing the song’s last line “I know you’re not what I need/ But I thought you were for a while.” The more intimate portion of the set brought out the quiet coziness of McLamb’s stripped-down sound, bringing the crowd into a more meditative environment.
McLamb also took advantage of this portion of the set to play unreleased tracks from an upcoming album, including an ode to crying, singing, “It’s okay to cry baby, when everything is so lovely,” perfectly fitting the emotional mood of the night. She also played an upcoming track she described as her first real love song — that is, a love song by a Capricorn.
Bringing her band back on, McLamb played “Salt Circle,” a song she noted was a celebration of female friendship. The performance was made especially poignant by the fact that a close friend who inspired the song was present at the show and was serenaded by McLamb during parts of the song. “It doesn’t feel quite right to call you a friend/ When we take our new bodies I will scour the earth to find you again,” McLamb sang, once again with members of the audience joining in.
Playing “Doing Fine”, a song about denying one’s emotions, McLamb invited the audience to scream along with her as she screamed the line “I’m doing fine” in the bridge of the song.
“Lena Grove” (2020), the final song of the evening, was McLamb’s most spiritual performance. McLamb again called for the audience to sing with her in the bridge of the song: “It is through love you are sustained/ You are self-contained,” providing a heartwarming end to the evening.
Whether screaming or singing quietly, Eliza McLamb’s performance created an atmosphere that welcomed the audience to do the same.
