Jimmy Reid’s granddaughter Lizzie could be Scotland’s answer to Joni Mitchell

More than 50 years later, his granddaughter, Lizzie Reid, is also making waves but rather than influencing the world of politics, she is one of the most promising artists in Glasgow’s music scene.

Fresh from supporting Paolo Nutini in Oban and headlining three nights at the Glad Cafe in Shawlands (two of which were sold out), the singer-songwriter from Pollokshields is releasing her second EP, Mooching, later this summer.

The 24-year-old has been compared to Julia Jacklin, Laura Marling and Joni Mitchell, with her songs including heart-felt melodies, skilful guitar playing and beautiful harmonies.

Lizzie released her first single, Tribute, in late 2020. This was soon followed by her debut EP, Cubicle, which was a treasure of emotive lyrics and delicate vocals.

Cubicle was well-received. It was nominated for the Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award and one song, Company Car, has received nearly one million plays on Spotify. Lizzie now has more than 30,000 monthly listeners on the platform.

Despite her rise in stature, the pandemic meant that the former Shawlands Academy pupil was unable to play the songs live for months.

She said: “It's not until you go out and see people that you can properly gauge how your music is being received. For so long, I felt like things were moving forward but I was physically stagnant. It was kind of disorientating.”

Since gigs started back, Lizzie has gone from strength to strength. She played several festivals last year, supported Mercury Prize winner Arlo Parks in Glasgow and Edinburgh and was a few tickets away from selling out the famous King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow in October.

Her second EP, Mooching, is quite different to its predecessor. While Cubicle focused on Lizzie’s first same-sex relationships, the new EP explores her mental health struggles.

Diagnosed with OCD earlier this year, Lizzie suffers with panic attacks and over the last two years they have been more pronounced than ever. The song, How Do I Show My Love? is about the strain caused by the panic attacks, whilst Soda Pop Stream describes the physical feeling of an oncoming attack.

The sound is different on Mooching, too. Cubicle was melancholic and stripped back at times, with a distinct folk sound. But Mooching is much fuller, rockier, and even poppy. It has shades of Big Thief, Sharon Van Etten, with some parts reminiscent of fellow west of Scotland natives Teenage Fanclub. The final tune, Warpaint, was written alongside Andy Monaghan of Frightened Rabbit and is very different from the gentle songs of her first EP.

“I do love some rock and roll,” said Lizzie. “We’d been through the process before [when recording the new EP]. I knew a lot more about what I wanted going into that process. So I didn't really think about it as much as I did the first time around.”

Much of her musical education was done at her grandparents' house in Rothesay on the isle of Bute. Her grandfather, Jimmy, was a big jazz fan, but because of his working-class background, “he couldn’t explore the world of music in a way that I have been able to. That’s something which is upsetting for me.”

However, it is Jimmy’s wife (and Lizzie’s granmother), Joan, to whom Lizzie attributes much of her musical inspiration. Joan played in various pubs and venues as half of The Swankie Sisters. The title of the second EP comes from her, who would tell her dog to “stop mooching” as it begged for affection.

Lizzie and her cousin Catriona, who plays in the band, have continued the family tradition of playing music together. In fact, How Do I Show My Love? was written while the pair were at their grandmother’s house.

“We would play piano there a bit and sing together,” said Lizzie. “I really enjoy playing music for my granny.”

Like many young Glaswegian musicians, Lizzie took part in Behind the Noise, a youth music programme which organised a gig at Classic Grand for young bands.

“That was a kind of life changing project,” said Lizzie. “It showed us what putting on a proper gig was like. Selling tickets, recording, all these different experiences within the music industry that you don't get from school.”

Behind the Noise also created a network of musicians who would stay in touch and go to each other's gigs. Lizzie would use these connections wisely, playing in various bands over the years.

One of these was Dead Pony, who Lizzie played bass with under the name of Crystal. Dead Pony are playing the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury this year.

Along with her cousin Catriona, Lizzie is often accompanied by a drummer (Chris Dickie), a guitarist (Lewis Docherty) and a bassist (Joe Rattray).

On the second of her three nights at the Glad Cafe, the place was packed, but the crowd was almost silent while the band performed. Between every tune, the audience went into raptures, with one woman shouting, “your songs are beautiful,” midway through the set. She was right, Lizzie’s songs are beautiful.

Despite a clear political streak in the family – as well as Jimmy’s activism, Lizzie’s sister Joani was a Labour councillor in Lewisham – her songs are distinctly not political.

She said: “I don’t like to write about things I don’t think I know about. That's why all the songs are very personal. I would like to branch out and explore more external themes. It wouldn't be right to express that at the moment, but hopefully one day I will.”

Perhaps the biggest gig of Lizzie’s career came in late May, when she supported Paolo Nutini at Corran Halls in Oban.

“It was mad. Oban was a lot rowdier than I thought, which was great. The energy in the room was so good. They were so buzzing. I don't know if my sad songs are what they were wanting!”

Lizzie will keep up the momentum this summer, as she has a few festival slots lined up. She hopes to be “gigging as much as I can once the EP is out. Obviously we didn't get to do that with Cubicle, so it'll be nice to be able to do that for this record.

“And probably a hometown headline show later on in the year in a slightly bigger venue.”

When that show comes along it may be wise to buy tickets. You don’t want to have missed Scotland’s answer to Joni Mitchell or Laura Marling before she was famous.

Mooching by Lizzie Reid comes out on August 3.