I like what I like. Longtime readers know that. No rhyme or reason.
So, somebody e-mails me about Pensacola, FL band The Cripple Lilies. I listen to one of their songs online; I like what I hear. I listen to the new studio album La Bête. It’s very good, but it’s a lot of country-tinged folk. Longtime readers may have figured out I’m not big on folk or country. I like pop music.
Two songs on the album, though, jumped right out at me. I dug ‘em, big time. Most of the songs feature the lead vocals of Chad Bishop, but on these two songs, his girlfriend Elizabeth LoPiccolo sings lead. It also turns out that she wrote one of these songs and co-wrote the other. These songs feature piano from LoPiccolo; longtime readers absolutely know how much I dig piano in my rock music.
What can I do? I like what I like. No disrespect to the album as a whole, but LoPiccolo’s vocals on “Carnations” are entrancing. It starts with the piano picking out a tune that’s kind of jaunty and slightly sad. The drummer ticks away on the high hat. The bass buzzes at the low end, with tuba-like resonance. The guitar comes in, kind of jazzy, but with a little surf music twang. There’s a glockenspiel — I assume it’s actually a keyboard, but it sounds like a glockenspiel — and an organ towards the end. Her voice aches; it’s charmingly wobbly. A choir swoops in at 2:27 and again at the end. Christ, it’s bloody marvelous. How can mere folk compete?
I mean, seriously. What’s not to love?
The Cripple Lilies – Left Over Legs — BUY
The Cripple Lilies – Carnations — BUY
Tags: The Cripple Lilies, MP3s
One Response
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The Pop View Says:
To clarify, Elizabeth LoPiccolo is listed as playing piano, organ, synth, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, and flute.