LIZ VICE RELEASES “IT WAS GOOD” SINGLE
“Chance the Rapper and Kanye West may use gospel elements to give their music a reverent lilt, but the genre hasn’t had many crossover evangelists since Kirk Franklin’s hip-hop bombast brought it to the pop charts in the 1990s. Enter Ms. Vice, whose version of gospel is more rootsy than radio. She has a rich voice that fits easily into her groovy yet understated arrangements; the result recalls the gentle revival of artists like Leon Bridges. “ - The New York Time
Brooklyn by way of Portland, Oregon artist Liz Vice has released a new single “It Was Good.” This song is the follow up to her sophomore album Save Me, released last year, that debuted in the top 25 on the Billboard Gospel charts
The song was co-written with Glenn Lavender and Leslie Jordan and is based on the poem “Creation,” by James Weldon Johnson, who also wrote “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Johnson became the national organizer for the NAACP in 1920 and edited the Book of American Negro Poetry, a major contribution to the history of African American literature. The song, like the poem, simply focuses on the beauty in the world, and what a gift it is to be alive and living on this planet.
Liz Vice is a storyteller at heart. The Portland native started her career working behind the scenes in the world of film and video, only to accidentally find herself behind the mic. Liz Vice’s sound is a fusion of Gospel and R&B, with dynamic and soulful vocals, and lyrics, deeply rooted in spirituality, that gives her work a timeless feel. For the past four years, Vice’s music and live performances have put her on the map as an artist to watch. She has been praised and featured by Oregon Public Broadcasts’ One Song, NPR’s World Cafe and Weekend Edition, Mountain Stage, eTown, NPR’s Weekend Edition, Relevant Magazine, and more. She has shared the stage with artists such as Lake Street Dive, Rodriguez, Joss Stone, The Wood Brothers, Lecrae, Blind Boys of Alabama and performed at Mavis Staple’s 80th Birthday at the Apollo alongside David Byrne, Norah Jones, Jon Batiste, Warren Haynes and more.
Upon its release Save Me was warmly received by fans and media alike. NPR said, “The mindfulness she brings to the stories she tells on Save Me proves essential and powerful.” No Depression said, “Liz Vice walks the stony road to redemption, delivering tunes that celebrate the victory over the illusions that hold us down while acknowledging the heavyweight of self-doubt and missed opportunities for loving others that we bear,” and Bitch Magazine commented that “Liz Vice is unpretentious and uncomplicated on Save Me, a gospel album that aims straight for the spirit. Vice’s faith-based music, influenced by legends Mavis Staples and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, is lifting.”
Vice is currently working on her third full-length album which will come out next year.
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