Lilys
Everything Wrong is Imaginary
Manifesto

Lilys join Belle & Sebastian and Mogwai in the group of bands most people think were "at their peak in the 90s", releasing an album this year. Lilys were a band who liked to jump genres from album to album, and they seem somewhat known for that. I think genre-jumping is a terrible idea myself, but whatever. Personally I enjoy their shoegazer stuff most. They've returned with Everything Wrong Is Imaginary. Let us decide if this album will go in the "should have stayed in the 90s" bin.

We start with "Black Carpet Magic", which begins with a gritty drums/bass/guitar sound. Combined with its nice chord progression and keyboards it is inviting. "Everyone knows everything", the singer insists. It's good because while Lilys seem focused on a fairly stark rock sound as a core, they still aren't afraid to throw a shoegazing sheet of noise out sometimes, as happens here at the 1:30 mark to quite extraordinary effect. It really makes the song, actually.

Unfortunately we go to shitty singing territory by track 2. It sounds like some fifty year-old trying to sing 80s-punk or something. I dunno, that's pretty harsh but damn, this ain't cool. There are still some good sounds that pepper this album, but I don't see much point in it to be honest. If you're an old Lilys fan, perhaps this is more for you.

Copyright © 2006 Mateo Orillas