Lily Franc shares new EP ‘The Fitting Room’

There is an appealing confidence to Lily Franc’s The Fitting Room, particularly given that its subject is the uncertainty of becoming an adult. Across six interconnected songs, the young Dutch singer-songwriter explores the awkward space between expectation and reality, creating character studies that feel intimate without becoming insular. Her approach is refreshingly empathetic. Rather than presenting growing pains as something to conquer, Franc treats them as part of the process of discovering what genuinely belongs in your life. The result is an EP that feels youthful in perspective but mature in execution.

Each song approaches that central idea from a different direction. burnt out gifted kids club considers what happens when achievement becomes an identity, while fun sponge takes a more playful route into the pressure to appear unaffected. under the weather finds its emotional centre in unresolved heartbreak, and old leather jacket gradually turns the ache of unrequited love into something more empowering. By the time soldier examines the delicate balance between supporting a partner and maintaining your own sense of self, Franc has established a remarkably broad emotional palette. These are recognisable situations, but her character-driven writing gives each one its own personality.

Musically, The Fitting Room is just as versatile as its themes. Franc moves fluidly between indie pop, folk and country pop, with unexpected touches of funk and Broadway adding colour to the arrangements. Her violin is perhaps the most distinctive ingredient, reflecting the classical training that has been part of her life since she was five. Rather than separating her classical background from her contemporary songwriting, Franc allows the two traditions to coexist, giving the EP an elegant musical thread that helps tie its stylistic variety together.

What stands out most is Franc’s refusal to create simple answers. There are no obvious villains in The Fitting Room, only people attempting to navigate expectations, insecurities and relationships while figuring out what they actually want. That generosity gives the record a particularly welcoming quality. Even when the songs deal with disappointment or emotional exhaustion, there is an underlying belief that change can be positive. The fitting room becomes less a symbol of confusion than a place of possibility, where trying something on also means having the freedom to take it off.

The closing for old times sake brings the project to an appropriately bittersweet conclusion, acknowledging the value of memories without allowing nostalgia to dictate what comes next. It is a fitting final statement for an artist who seems less interested in declaring exactly who she is than in exploring who she might become. With a strong songwriting instinct, an unmistakable violin-led identity and an ability to turn everyday emotional dilemmas into engaging stories, Lily Franc makes The Fitting Room an impressive introduction. It is a debut about self-acceptance that leaves plenty of room for growth, curiosity and whatever comes next.

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