Eccsame The Photon Band

Eccsame The Photon Band
from CMJ, March 1995

A few years ago, it was easy to peg Lilys as Americans who really wanted to be shoegazing Brits. Now that the Brits have moved on to other flavors, the band has slid further into pop catatonia, while embracing the keyboard space-keyboard-and-tape-loop facination of its former labelmate Stereolabd. Eccsames 14 tracks (ten real songs, four burbly little segues) take the Lilys deep into psychedelic territory, where songs move at a glacial pace and are called things like "fbi and their toronto transmitters" and "the turtle which dies before knowing." Too many of these are throwaway melodies layered over with tape loops, tone clusters and flugelforn, but a couple of worthwhile songs poke through the haze. Like a toy glider, "High Writer At Home" starts on a drone, graduates to a dull roar, and putters out fuzzily as the lyrics take their course. Singer Kurt Heasley sounds like David Gilmore's slightly less evil twin, numb but not quite comfortable. Much more chipper is the radio-ready "Radiotricity", whose jangle and singsong vocals bring the band back to its la-la origins.-Andrea Moed

Release Date - Jan. 10 1995

File Under - Slow trippers

Recomended in you Like - Stereolab, Smashing Orange, Codiene