Lyn Lapid Finds Herself on Debut Album “BUZZKILL”
Singer-songwriter sensation Lyn Lapid is finding her footing, both in music and in life. After skyrocketing in recognition on TikTok in 2020 thanks to her viral debut single “Producer Man”, Lapid moved on her own from her small Maryland hometown to busy, bustling Los Angeles. The year and a half since she moved has had its ups and downs, as Lapid searched for a place to fit in— socially and creatively— within the big city’s crowds.
Credit: Caity Krone
This journey is documented throughout Lapid’s first full-length record BUZZKILL, where she confronts the struggles of finding genuine connection and friendship in this day and age, with lyricism at once deeply personal and highly relatable. At 22 years old, Lapid is well-versed in the awkwardness of youth, but her songwriting transforms her directionless feelings into a strong creative vision. Sitting at just under 34 minutes total run time, BUZZKILL’s songs are short and sweet, packed with catchy melodies and honest, witty lyrical content but never overstaying their welcome.
The songwriting process was a healing experience for Lapid, the sadness of some songs and the sarcasm of others both providing catharsis. In fact, it even helped her repair some of the relationships that she wrote about. When asked about surprising moments throughout the process, Lapid told a story about an old friend finding one of her song demos on a private Instagram account, recognizing that the lyrics were about them, and reaching out to Lapid about it. However, what began as an awkward moment turned out to be an opportunity to work out their differences, and their bond grew stronger as a result.
The title track “buzzkill”, with a bit of self-awareness, points out the irony in going out to feel included knowing that it won’t be an enjoyable experience. “Everywhere I went, I felt like a buzzkill and I felt like I brought the mood down. I was meeting so many people that I didn’t quite click with but I would hold onto anyway, just for the sake of not being alone,” Lapid said. “I kind of make light of all of these emotions that I’ve been feeling and poke fun at them.”
Credit: Caity Krone
Standout single “death wish” tackles the complicated feelings of being cast aside by friends in favor of their romantic relationships. She sings, maybe only a little sarcastically, “Hope you never fall in love / hope your dearest turns to dust / though I’ll never ever confess it / but under my breath I got a death wish.” There’s a sense of both humor and melancholy to the song that perfectly captures the dichotomy between wanting to be happy for a friend’s relationship, and watching them drift away, worrying that the friendship was merely a temporary placeholder for romance. The song was inspired by a conversation that Lapid had with another single friend. “I remember saying to my friend, ‘I’m gonna be single forever, I’m never gonna find love.’ And then she was like, ‘I don’t see a problem with that. That person’s gonna take you away from me,’” she said. Even though her friend was being jokingly possessive, Lapid thought about that for a moment and agreed, remembering all of the friends that deprioritized their platonic friendships after finding a partner and not wanting to fall into that trap herself. “We had bonded over that mutual understanding that if we were to get into relationships, we wouldn’t abandon our personal friendships. Platonic friendships are just as important as romantic relationships.”
It’s that resentment for superficial connections that makes Lapid feel like a buzzkill. Her efforts to not be alone only ended up having the opposite effect: the more time she spent with people she didn’t fit in with, the more lonely she felt. Writing songs for the album was an opportunity to reflect, and discover that the path towards meaningful connections started with self-acceptance. “The moral of the album is accepting who you are, and allowing yourself to find the community of people that you truly belong with by being unapologetically yourself,” Lapid said. Lyn Lapid’s coming-of-age story is both a new chapter for herself and a new height for her career, as BUZZKILL contains some of her most thematically cohesive and sonically memorable work yet.
This summer, Lapid is taking BUZZKILL on her biggest headlining tour yet, playing cities across the US and Europe with support from RC Avenue, Fig, and Sabrina Sterling. Catch her on tour and listen to BUZZKILL, available now.