Once you know that "Lillies and Remains" is originally the title of a Bauhaus song, the pieces very quickly fall into place. Well that, and the fact the front-man Kent is the spitting aural image of Peter Murphy (at least in his lower/more monotone register) both come together to give you a pretty fair image of the band.
Having been formed in the middle of 2007, Lillies and Remains are still a bit of an unknown equation. They've released one one six track EP and a single video go along with it. Their sound, aside from he above influence, is almost bluesy at times, though the old-school goth vibe chases most of the blues away in favor of its much more stark gloom. Their use of guitars is similar to Bloc Party and other modern post-punk outfits, namely tight and quick. They are also generally bass and groove heavy, letting the lower end really drive both the rhythm and melody of the songs. Their cover of Love's "Alone Again Or" is typical goth tongue-in-cheek, transforming a rather vapid psychedelic soft rock hit from the 60's into an epic doom rock song that all the girls (and guys) in black-lipstick will all be dancing to at their own special proms for years to come.
Again, the band is still very young, so it will be interesting to see how they develop from here. They could easily fall into the usual trap of dropping the more interesting aspects (the darkness, the raw goth elements) in favor of reaching out to a broader audience with a lighter "bad-boy" image. Most notably, their live performances fall short of their namesake. They certainly aren't as theatrical, and Kent's voice doesn't seem up to the task of maintaining his lower recorded register in a live setting. Still, these are minor details that will hopefully be worked out as the band matures. Apparently they are already working on a new album, so we'll all just have to sit tight until it's released.
Moralist S.S.
Official Site
MySpace
Members:
Kent - Vocal, Guitar, Synth
Kazuya - Guitar, Backing Vocal
Cozy - Drums
Sho - Bass
Albums:
Moralist S.S. 2008
Ivan, Knife, Lip Cream (Live)
4 comments:
Wow, Moralist S.S.ellent! Can't wait to hear more songs *go to their myspace*... Thanks!
Ooh, I love them. Thanks Zac!
@Colette: Yeah, so do I! I wish I would have learned about them sooner. They would definitely been a top pick of 2008.
This is some pretty good stuff, and given my tastes I'm surprised I haven't heard of them before. Thanks for bringing them up!
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