Years active 1988–present | ||
 | ||
Origin Washington, D.C., United States Associated acts Apples In Stereo
My Bloody Valentine Past members Harold "Bear" Evans
Ken Heitmuller
Mike Glasgow
Dana Cerick
Alex Hacker
Archie Moore
Beth Sorrentino
Jay Sorrentino
Paul "Pablo" Naomi
Art Difuria
Bryan Dilworth
Mike Lenert
Dave Frank
Michael Deming
Rich Costey
Robert Andreano
Thom Monahan
Aaron Sperske
Trevor Kampmann
Torben Pastore
Jason Falkner
James "Fuzzy" Sangiovani
Steven Keller
Mickey Walker
Gerhardt Koerner
Don Devore
Mike Musmanno
Don Piper
Michael Johnson
Tim Foote
Mike Hammel
Matt Horn
Tommy Joyner
Steven Keller
Chris McAllen
Trish Scearce
Mario "Pel" Lopez
Mark Scott
Ariel Pink
Dan Horne
Jesse Gallagher
Spenser Gralla
Noah Bond
Doug Tuttle
Matt Werth
Alex Craig
Travis Roseberg
Chris Colley
James Richardson Members Kurt Heasley, Ariel Pink, Aaron Sperske Record labels Slumberland Records, Frontier Records Genres Indie rock, Indie pop, Shoegazing, Dream pop Albums In the Presence of Nothing, Eccsame the Photon Band, Better Can't Make Your Life Better, Everything Wrong Is Imaginary, Precollection Profiles | ||
Lilys high writer at home
Lilys are an American indie rock band formed in Washington, D.C in 1988. The only constant member is Kurt Heasley, with the line-up changing regularly. Several of the band's tracks have been used in television advertisements, and the band's biggest hit was one of these, "A Nanny In Manhattan", which reached No. 16 in the UK after being used in a Levi's advertisement directed by Roman Coppola.
Contents
- Lilys high writer at home
- Lilys tone bender
- Heasley collaborations and productions
- Musical style
- Albums
- SinglesEPs
- Compilation appearances
- Songs
- References
Lilys tone bender
Heasley collaborations and productions
Heasley has collaborated with other acts such as Nobody, appearing on the band's 2005 single "Fancy", a cover of the Kinks song. and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, singing "Tschuss" on their 2003 album And This Is Our Music. He also contributed "effects" to Poole's "Snowcicle" on the band's Alaska Days album, and performed on Apples In Stereo's 1995 album Fun Trick Noisemaker, and Neko Case's 2009 album Middle Cyclone. He co-wrote the Twitch Hazel contributions to their 1997 split double-7-inch EP Kramer's Beach. He has also produced recordings by other artists including The Asteroid#4 (Apple Street: A Classic Tale Of Love And Hate, King Richard's Collectibles), The Ladybug Transistor, and Mazarin and co-engineered Echo Orbiter's Laughing All The While.
Musical style
The band's music has shifted style several times in its history. The early recordings, including debut album In The Presence of Nothing, were strongly influenced by My Bloody Valentine. They then moved through dream pop before settling on a new style that has been described as mod revival and a particularly strong influence from The Kinks, and other 1960s bands such as The Monkees and The Zombies leading to the 1996 album Better Can't Make Your Life Better, Later releases included elements of psychedelic rock and a return to their earlier shoegazing sound. The band have gained a reputation for sounding very similar to other artists and bands over the years, with Michael Sandlin of Pitchfork Media going as far as saying "You might say Lilys frontman Kurt Heasley is a world-class thief", but as one journalist put it "I know we're supposed to hate bands that sound too much like other bands, but the difference with the Lilys is that they do it so blatantly and so shamelessly that it's somehow rendered okay."
Robert Christgau described the band's sound as "amplified watercolors".
Albums
Singles/EPs
Compilation appearances
Songs
A Nanny in ManhattanBetter Can't Make Your Life Better · 1996
Claire Hates MeIn the Presence of Nothing · 1992
Returns Every MorningBetter Can't Make Your Life Better · 1996