Lilys are an American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

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, including the band's biggest hit, "A Nanny In Manhattan", which reached No. 16 in the UK after being used in a Levi's advertisement directed by

Roman Coppola Roman François Coppola (born April 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker and music video director. He is the son of Francis Ford and Eleanor Coppola, and is known for his film collaborations with Wes Anderson. Coppola serves as president of fi ...

.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 836-837

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,Mosurak, Doug (2005)
Still Single, Vol. 3
, ''Dusted'', 2005, retrieved 24 December 2009 and

The Brian Jonestown Massacre The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American Rock music, rock band led and started by Anton Newcombe. It was formed in San Francisco in 1990. The group was the subject of the 2004 documentary film called ''Dig!'', and have gained media notorie ...

, 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 Neko Richelle Case ( ; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case's singing voice has been described by contemporaries and critics as a "flamethrower", "a pow ...

'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 Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such ...

before settling on a new style that has been described as

mod revival The mod revival is a subculture that started in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and later spread to other countries (to a lesser degree). The Mod Revival started with disillusionment with the punk scene when commercialism set in. It was f ...

and a particularly strong influence from

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...

, and other 1960s bands such as

The Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

and The Zombies leading to the 1996 album '' Better Can't Make Your Life Better'',Howard, Brian (2003)
A Man Up
", '' Philadelphia City Paper'', 22–28 May 2003, retrieved 23 December 2009Lewis, Catherine P. (2006)
Lilys ''Everything Wrong Is Imaginary''
, ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', February 3, 2006, retrieved 23 December 2009 Later releases included elements of

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

and a return to their earlier

shoegazing Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volum ...

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 ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

going as far as saying "You might say Lilys frontman Kurt Heasley is a world-class thief",Sandlin, Michael (1999)
Lilys ''The 3-Way''
",

, April 20, 1999, retrieved 24 December 2009 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."Chang, Vickie (2006)
Sounds Just Like Awesome: 90s rockers the Lilys ripped off pretty much every band ever
, ''

OC Weekly ''OC Weekly'' was a free alternative weekly paper distributed in Orange County and Long Beach, California. It was founded in September 1995 by Will Swaim, who acted as editor and publisher until 2007. The paper was distributed at coffee shops, ...

'', July 6, 2006, retrieved 24 December 2009 Rock critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

described the band's sound as "amplified watercolors".Murray, Noel (1999)
Rock Steady: Three bands stay true to rock 'n' roll, with mixed results
, ''

Nashville Scene ''Nashville Scene'' is an alternative newsweekly in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1989, became a part of Village Voice Media in 1999, and later joined the ranks of sixteen other publications after a merger of Village Voice Media with ...

'', May 20, 1999, retrieved 23 December 2009

Discography

Albums

*'' In the Presence of Nothing'' (1992),

Slumberland Records Slumberland Records is an American independent record label, formed in 1989 in Washington, D.C., and based in Oakland, California. The label has released recordings by Velocity Girl, Honeybunch, Lilys, Stereolab, Evans The Death, St. Christo ...

*'' A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns'' (1994) (10" mini album), SpinART Records *'' Eccsame the Photon Band'' (1994), SpinART Records (reissued in 2015 on Frontier Records) *'' Better Can't Make Your Life Better'' (1996) Che/Primary Records (Reissued in 1998 in Europe on CD with an altered track list that omitted one original song from U.S. album version and added two B-sides) *'' The 3 Way'' (1999)

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...

*'' Zero Population Growth: Bliss Out Volume 15'' (1999)

Darla Records Darla Records is an independent record label founded by James Agren in October 1993 while he was in New York (state), New York. Darla's first release was a 7-inch by Grifters (band), Grifters, an indie rock/lo-fi music, lo-fi band from Memphis. ...

*'' Precollection'' (2003),

Manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...

(reissued in Europe with 3 bonus tracks as ''The Lilys'' (2004) on Rainbow Quartz Records) *'' Everything Wrong Is Imaginary'' (2006), Manifesto Records

Singles/EPs

* "February Fourteenth/Threw A Day" (1991), Slumberland Records * "Tone Bender" (1993) Slumberland Records * ''Tone Bender EP'' (1994), Summershine Records (contains the first two album singles re-released as EP) * "Returns Every Morning" (1996), Ché Records * "A Nanny in Manhattan" (1996), Ché Records * ''Which Studies the Past?'' 7" EP (1996), Sub Pop Records * ''Services (For the Soon to Be Departed)'' EP (1997), Primary Records * "A Nanny in Manhattan" (1998), Ché Records (Reached the UK Music Charts at No.16) * ''Selected'' EP (2000), File 13 Records

Compilation appearances

*"Any Several Sundays" appears on ''...One Last Kiss'' (CD) (1992), spinART Records *"Claire Hates Me" appears on ''Neapolitan Metropolitan'' (3x 7-inch EP box set) (1992),

Simple Machines Simple Machines was an American independent record label in Arlington, Virginia. The label was founded by Derek Denckla and Jenny Toomey and Brad Sigal while both were living in the Positive Force House in north Arlington, but Sigal and even ...

*"Excelsior Plainslide" appears on ''Ten Cent Fix - A Jiffy Boy Records Compilation'' (1993), Jiffy Boy Records *"Strange Feelin'" appears on ''Sing A Song For You: Tribute To Tim Buckley'' (2000), Manifesto Records *"Dreams Never End" appears on "Slumberland Records - The First 20 Years" (2009),

*''Lilys/Aspera Ad Astra'' split EP with Aspera Ad Astra (2000), Tiger Style Records *"Well Traveled Is Protest" appears on the Lilys/Big Troubles split 7" (2012), Speakertree Records *"Unheard of Curiosities" appears on the ''Lodge 49 (Original Soundtrack Series)'' album (2019), Lakeshore Records

References

External links

* {{Authority control Indie rock musical groups from Washington, D.C. Musical groups established in 1988 Rocket Girl artists Frontier Records artists Sire Records artists Elektra Records artists SpinART Records artists Low Transit Industries artists Darla Records artists