Liily – I Can Fool Anybody In This Town (2019)
Liily is an alternative/indie/rock band from the United States. Located in Los Angeles, California the hardcore five-piece is made up of Maxx Morando (drums), Aaron Reeves (guitar), Charlie Anastasis (bass), Dylan Nash (vocals) and Sam Delatorre (guitar). Recently, Liily released their debut EP entitled I Can Fool Anybody In This Town.
If I had to choose four words to describe the album, they would be fast-paced, heavy, mystifying and old school. ‘Toro’, ‘The Weather’, and ‘I Can Fool Anyone In This Town’ are three particular songs that clearly demonstrate all four qualities mentioned above. In no way are they slow or sensual, nor are they like any other alternative band in the current music industry.
When I hear the words rock, alternative or indie, Liily is not what comes to mind. To me Sleeping With Sirens is rock, The Killers is alternative, and Mainland is indie. I think there is a very fine line between these genres and this is where Liily lies. If anything, I would say they’re more hard rock or classic rock than anything else. I can see where, in parts such as intros, outros, bridges and choruses, alternative tones are noticeable.
The way Nash’s voice blends with the music almost put me in a trance. The only other time I’ve felt that way was when listening to Waterparks’ cover of ‘Beating Heart Baby’. Even though it’s considered jazz, I still feel like Knight is able to blend his voice into the song in a way that will make a girl swoon.
When I listened to the EP for the first time, I thought I heard a sense of familiarity. A smooth and deep voice is not something that is quickly forgotten. When I started listening to ‘Toro’ for the second time It was almost as if I’d heard the song and voice, or something similar, before. I kept wracking my brain trying to think of who Nash sounded like. There was something that just clicked and I don’t know what it is. I kept trying to come up with lyrics that would help me find the mysterious voice, however, everything kept coming back to this one song. For the life of me, I couldn’t (still can’t) figure out where or who the distinct voice comes from.
What surprised me the most is that the band is made up of teenagers. If I listened without knowing who the artist or group was, I would’ve sworn a fully grown adult man was singing and not an 18 or 19-year-old. I would’ve said the band was made up of adults in their mid to late 30s, and MAYBE early 40s. Their voices are deep, polished and not something you can quickly forget, so to say I was expecting their singing to be like that is an understatement. Sometimes in music, you can tell what generation it was written in, and with this album, I would never have guessed that it was released nine days ago. If asked to guess when the album was released, I would have said that based on sound alone the album came out somewhere within the last 20-30 years.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this album. When I read that Liily was a hardcore rock/alternative band I was not expecting to compare it to classic rock. I was thinking there would be a fair share of screaming, slamming of guitars, aggressiveness and more metalcore/metal (think The Amity Affliction or Senses Fail). I felt transported back in time to the ’80s or ’90s rock era.
Halfway through my second listen through, I was reminded of The Starting Line, another alternative band. Both bands overall are considered heavy; however, Liily’ s heaviness resides further on the rock and roll side of the scale whereas The Starting Line’s is more on the punk side.
If you’re into old school classic rock, I highly recommend giving I Can Fool Anybody In This Town a listen. In addition to our classic rock fans, if you like bands such as The Pale White, The Blue Stones, Wallows, Mainland, or King Shelter you will also enjoy this band.
You can stream this debut EP, along with singles, via Liily’s Spotify and Apple Music. Find out more about Liily, their music and any upcoming gigs on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
