from the EP Selected, File 13 Records, recorded: 1990, released: 2003That snowstorm we had last week has given way, temporarily, to summer-like weather around these parts, and it feels marvelous! My job has me driving on the highway every week, so over the process of the last few years I’ve found several songs which work particularly well when one is flying along the road, windows down, sun ablaze in the sky---this track is most definitely one of them. The Lilys (yes, I know the band’s name is not “The” Lilys but rather just “Lilys”, only, if I write it that way I sound like I’m writing about a fucking flower) were hatched in Philadelphia in the late ‘80s by founding member Kurt Heasley; incidentally, he remains as the only original member still found within the Lily’s ranks. They are notorious for being musical chameleons, dropping a mod-revival album here, shoegazer tributes there, and plenty of melodious “indie rock” in between it all. This specific track was released on the odds and ends EP Selected, and was apparently played very often at their live shows in the early days; no wonder, because this track is blissfully hypnotic and deeply mesmerizing. The 12-string guitar is right up front sound-wise, layered, jangly, pushing the drums, bass and even the vocals far to the back in the mix. When you are driving down the interstate with this song blaring at high volume, it really makes you feel lifted; the tambourine is an exceedingly nice touch. I searched in vain all over the infernet for lyrics to this track and couldn’t find a damn thing, but it’s the timbre of his voice here which means the most to the track, never hitting more than 3 or 4 notes in total, mumbling, the vocal equivalent of being bleary-eyed. The most obvious influence here is the Byrds, no doubt, but one can also hear the Jesus & Mary Chain, Rain Parade, even some Giant Sand. I haven’t been able to follow along full-heartedly with every twist and turn of the Lily’s archive, but they hit the mark here: old as new as old.
