Liily and the metal red velvet theatricality of "Applause"

 

"show me the father, show me his place, show me the ashes I can put to a face..."


Los Angeles alt rockers Liily have always had a romantic sound, darkly romantic, hmmm- maybe even apocalyptically romantic but romantic nevertheless and never mind that there is an artfully manic quality underneath, there still is hand holding and brandishing a dozen flowers within their sound. The track "Applause" kind of broke my brain a little bit with it's synth funk cadence that had me thinking of Eddy Grant (Electric Avenue) with the sort of industrial punk sweep ala N.I.N. and 80's post punk Gothic rock atmospheres like the metal vampirism of Fields of the Nephilim (at least to me). 

The boys had this to say about "Applause": 

"I guess you can say 'Applause' is our own take on a dance song and an exciting follow up to our first record, TV or Not TV. It shows the gradual artistic growth inspired by our first year touring post-pandemic and the necessary performative and sonic shift we endured becoming a 4 piece."

The more I listen to this track I am feeling some punk cabaret and glam too. Just wanted to add that. 

-Robb Donker Curtius

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM 

https://www.facebook.com/LiilyTheBand/


https://twitter.com/Liilytheband


https://open.spotify.com/artist/2asx6eXv9qzj5rA0ESrdO3


https://open.spotify.com/artist/2asx6eXv9qzj5rA0ESrdO3


Liily are four Los Angeles musicians- Dylan Nash, Sam De La Torre, Charlie Anastasis & Maxx Morando - who, up until now, were mostly known for their manic and cacophonous live shows. Summed up as an “Angeleno quintet…pushing the rock genre forward and into a new era of raw tension and passionate fire…” (Atwood Magazine) the band quickly gained early momentum. Those performances, alongside a couple of early singles packaged together into an 2019 EP entitled I Can Fool Anybody In This Town, drove the young band to some surprising early successes: performing at Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, touring across Europe and the United States, listed as a VEVO Artist to Watch, and then finding themselves on the cover of major rock playlists. Almost two years later, the band returns with new music and a new energy. Lead singer, Dylan Nash talks about the ‘new era’ as “I think thematically it’s very different, I think the intensity of it is very different. I think we had the same intention though which is to try to maintain a sense of forward momentum - that’s what it still has in common.” 
 Liily looks to harness their valley upbringing and jump from moment to moment and genre to genre, creating an experimental and original set of songs, all more strange and abrasive but also far more three dimensional than anything the band has done before. It still contains the unbridled energy of those early shows and singles but feels stripped of anything passive or unintentional.


Liily, alt rock, art rock, post punk, gothic rock, metal, Dylan Nash, Sam De La Torre, Charlie Anastasis,  Maxx Morando, Los Angeles, raw tension, aloof, punk pummel, "Applause",