Lilia May – Kaleidoscope
Truly great stories aren’t just worth being retold. They need to be! What was true about them stayed that way through the ages. But the format, the language, the manner in which it was told is bound to become archaic. Keep Shakespeare or any of the holy books in the language in which they were written, and soon enough, nobody will bother opening them up again.
Psychedelic rock of the 1960s fits into this category in much the same way. That too was an era in which it seemed that miracles were in touching distance. That too was a time when visionaries got their ideas on tape, or onto recordings as quickly as they knew how. But it’s a language we feel less and less connected with every single day. That doesn’t mean that we should lose our conenction to Jefferson Airplane and their psychedelic excursions.
Someone needs to tell us that story once again and make it believable. That someone may just be Lilia May. New single “Kaleidoscope” feels like a modern retelling of “White Rabbit.” Only that this time it’s not being delivered by hippies trying to slip acid into Nixon’s coffee. Instead, Lilia May retains some of the adventurousness and warmth that her predecessors were able to summon and dresses the music down into modern comfort clothes. Thankfully, it’s a story as old as time, and because the delivery is good, it’s easy to understand and enjoy it for what it is.
Club 8 – Getting By
Fortunes are poured every year into businesses, claiming they can bring their clients relief by making life around them stop for a while. These businesses tend to charge a pretty penny. But, the majority of the people requesting their service would be willing to pay just about everything. Like a person suffering from tinnitus who would do anything to stop the ringing, so do most people feel about the world at large.
And it’s easy to understand why. There’s very little in the news that is of any help to you or that is meant to make you feel good. Your friends and lovers could one day become your enemies. And, the cities echo the anxiety and craziness of all of their millions of inhabitants. Who wouldn’t want to turn all of that off for a while, at least?
Club 8’s “Getting By” is indie-pop therapy music. It’s the gentle stroll by the beach, the ride on a boat that floats effortlessly on the river, or the gaze toward an endless sunset. It’s all and any of the things that make you feel as if nothing is intruding on your life and creating discomfort. Club 8 continue to prove that they’ve mastered the art of creating soothing indie-pop music, songs best enjoyed with a cup of coffee and with a shy smile.
