Lilygun debut album

4 stars (out of 5)

2

It’s hard to believe that this is the debut Lilygun album because it’s so self-assured. It stands up to repeated listening, and even rewards it.  The band has released 2 singles so far this year and both feature on this first album, but more about both of those later.  This is a set of songs written by the band’s dynamic and charismatic singer, Anna-Christina,  demonstrating  such variety that it’s difficult to pin the sound down to 1 genre; there are elements of punk, metal, riot grrrl, Goth and even hints of early English folk.  We’ve had it on constant repeat here at Riot Towers for a couple of weeks now and it still sounds great.

I love it when an album blows you away from the first notes of the first song and the Lilygun debut does exactly that.  “Sunlight Dream” (an “Inception” reference, perhaps) blasts in with drums, big grungy guitar chords and howling lead guitar slipping into nice clean, strummed chords underpinned by drums and a rhythmic bass figure before a multi-tracked vocal refrain leads up to the first verse; and that’s just the intro.

This is an album that rewards you for listening to the tracks in the right order.  The songs are all strong enough to stand alone, but hearing them in sequence creates a clear narrative flow.  The first pair of songs introduces us to the powerless outsider with “Peace of Mind” building from a tribal drum pattern through a couple of verses to a blazing chorus and a typically blistering guitar solo.

“My Ways” moves the narrative on to insight into the loner’s situation before “Moonlight” starts to reveal a glimmer of a positive outcome.  “Excuses” is the first sign of a reaction to the loner’s situation and a clear message about taking responsibility for our actions.  “Conversations” takes a step backwards into negative emotions before the 2 songs which bring the album and the narrative to a positive conclusion.

Scum” was the first song from the album to be released this year and it’s a huge anthem, playing to the group’s strengths with quiet verses interspersed with a huge chorus which is built around a massive descending guitar run and the song’s big message :”There’s no need to be a victim of negativity”.  The final song “Diamonds” brings the journey to its end with the beginning of a relationship and another very clear lyrical message:  “Don’t let your past decide who you are”.

It’s all very well telling a good story but the music has to enhance the story as well and this is where Lilygun have absolutely aced it.  You won’t find a one-dimensional or one-idea song here; they all fizz with musical ideas and great playing.  The arrangements squeeze every last drop out of a fairly traditional line-up of 2 guitars, bass and drums (with the odd touch of strings and multi-tracked vocals) and create a huge dynamic range across the album.  I know it’s unfair to single out any particular contribution but James Ford’s guitar work is really powerful and took me back to the early days of Skunk Anansie and the brilliant Ace.

This is a great first album from an original and inventive band and I haven’t heard anything else this year to surpass this in terms of raw power and dynamic range; they’ve been on the horizon for a while now and this should be the breakthrough.  This is a great album. Buy the CD and listen to all the tracks in the right order; I can’t wait to see them live.

Release date 10/09/12 on A Line Records/Cargo.

 

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  1. […] I said in the review that it kind of reminded me of Skunk Anansie, what they were doing in the early ‘90s with a […]

  2. […] September 10 – Lilygun album release date.  Review here. […]



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