lilys is known as one of those pretty obscure shoegaze bands (even though they had stylistic shifts later), like lsd and the search for god, that has largely been dismissed as a my bloody valentine imitator. mbv fans are very quick to accuse imitators. and while lsd and the search for god has one incredible number they’re known for, “Starting Over“, lilys doesn’t have an equivalent… or does it?
“Elizabeth Colour Wheel”, on the surface, really does sound like a song by my bloody valentine- the guitar textures and glide guitar’s about very similar and kurt heasley’s vocals sound suspiciously like kevin shields’. but through its lengthy running time of seven minutes, it sounds quite beautiful. also, who doesn’t like having the sound of an electric toothbrush drone throughout the entire song? (i’m serious, just listen to the first thirty seconds.)
i’d compare this to post-punk revival. there are plenty of bands within the post-punk revival genre that didn’t reinvent a genre or try something new, like franz ferdinand and the vines, but they still made music that was pretty damn good. and for lilys, “Elizabeth Colour Wheel” is a pretty damn good shoegaze number with a very pretty title. give it a listen if you haven’t already!
(p.s., i’m going back to post-hardcore next week. this can’t become a shoegaze blog…)
q-street 