The Lilys : Everything Wrong is Imaginary

In what seems like their 237th lineup change, Lilys are still going strong with frontman and brainchild Kurt Heasley at the helm. While Lilys are a Philly-based band that was part of the mild boom of the “Psychdelphia” movement along with the likes of Bardo Pond and the Azusa Plane that raised eyebrows in the music world, Heasley has always taken a nomadic approach to the making of each Lilys album whether it be Boston, Washington D.C., or even his beloved hometown. Recently, though, he has returned to the City of Brotherly Love with Michael Musmanno (Outkast) in the producer’s seat and Chairman Mao, of all people, on the album’s cover. Heasley’s vagabond nature had caused some friction in his family over the years, but this time around he has made a solid album in that one place where his heart is.

From the very first seconds of the opener “Black Carpet Magic,” a gusty cyclone of sonance encompasses its terrain before the breezy synth squelches set in. Had Steely Dan’s album Aja been given a drug induced disco treatment in the late ’70s, “Peg” would have been sonically similar to “A Diana’s Diana.” “With Candy” exhibits some of Lilys’ more amazing melodic feats because it contains a dose of half-buried jangle pop due to the skewed syncopation of its ebb and flow. Throughout the album the lilting vocal octaves may be sloppy for a short amount of time, yet sound fresh for the most part.

A hypnotic trance rock guile is added to the moody yet colorful “Knocked on the Fortune Teller’s Door,” while “Where the Night Goes” contains the sway of a kaleidoscopic mantra and deepwater droning. “The Night Sun Over San Juan” may seem over indulgent but if you ever wanted to do a mash up of Air’s “La Femme De Argent” and Neil Young’s “Cowgirl in the Sand,” it would probably come off sounding like “O.I.C.U.R.” as it is led by a minimalist chord progression.

Though wide in scope and heavy in effects, Everything Imaginary is Wrong emits a subtle feeling of warmth that is buried carefully beneath all of its looming layers of sound. Trust me. Dig deep and you shall find.

Similar Albums:
Spiritualized – Amazing Grace
My Bloody Valentine – Isn’t Anything
Chapterhouse – Whirlpool

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