Better Can't Make Your Life Better
taken from Alternative Press, December 1996


4 out of 5 fingers.....Right now there are dozens of bands releasing albums that unapologetically trunpet the merits of the 60's rock aesthetic as vital. That kind of music's truth seems to lie with it's ability not just to evoke something classic, but to get past the imatation and go somewhere new with the sound. Otherwise, it's just a nostalgia excercise.

A startlingly high number of 60's reminiscent bands have been defying novelty lately. Either that, or they just sound so incredibly like the 60's bands for which I've always been a sucker that there's no not liking them. Olivia Tremor Control, Zumpano, Brian Joestown Massacre and others have been opening compelling doors on hazy, mid to late 60's vista navigated by the Beatles, Stones, Byrds, Beach Boys and obscurer groups. Lilys newest album, full of 8-track fuzz and twelve string jangle, is another of the family of killer vistitations. The songs-simple, lively, and organ rich-ring with the sheen of an unmistakable grainy accent, but they also extend to interesting strucural and lyrical ideas. The band sound tight and loose, and they carry off the crudeness beautifully.

Songwriter and only permanent member Kurt Heasley sings like an icon on "Elevator is Temporary." You're not quite sure about the words he is singing, but you know he's the songs wounded hero. Over a nodding groove (the kind you hear on Abbey Road) that rolls into nice blues-lite changes, Heasley flies up on falsetto benders and down to druggy-cool crooning. But he pulls it off without succumbing to the personality monster. He just sounds cool, like Ray Davies. But not exactly like Ray Davies, if you know what I mean....-Sean Nelson

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