Sweet Lizzy Project has a story that has gotten them featured in PBS documentary and a sound that caught the ear of Mavericks’ frontman Raul Malo. The band from Cuba has settled down in Nashville in recent years and since then they’ve dealt with culture shock and a pandemic — the latter of which stalled their touring plans for their 2020 LP Technicolor.
It’s a lot to handle, and while the band has released music since then — 2022’s kinetic and diverse Pirata Radio (also released in English as Pirate Radio) — singer Lisset Diaz calls their newest release the most personal track from the band yet.
“I’ve dealt with anxiety since I was a kid,” says Diaz in a press release. “ I’ve always feared one lifetime won’t be enough to accomplish all I have in my head. The music industry, the pressure to meet someone else’s expectations, the responsibility of managing and keeping our band together took its toll towards the end of 2022.”
The pressure comes to a head in “Somebody Wake Me When It’s Over,” a track with crashing drums, shredding guitars and forceful vocals from Diaz. It’s a big sound, but the lyrics showcase the fears and vulnerabilities of the band, with lines about biting nails, wanting to shut down and feeling like “a tiny little island in this ocean of uncertainty.”
The song confronts those feelings with anthemic style, and the contrast of the sound and lyrics reinforces the idea that speaking about fears and anxieties is actually more empowering than expected.
Listen to the track below or find it elsewhere with this link, and follow the band on Instagram for more updates.
