Album Review: Lillies and Remains - Part of Grace

There are two lines on Part of Grace, the first full-length release from Lillies and Remains, that basically sum up the entire album for me. The first is from the second track, "The Fake." The song itself is a dangerous, throbbing slab of post-punk doom. In this context, the line "The more I heard your song / The more I wanna write my own songs" could be construed either as inspirational or confrontational. This ambiguous split between positives and negatives seems to be exactly what Lillies and Remains is all about. They are constantly riding the line between sin and virtue, darkness and light. Their music follows suit, one the one hand bring raw and stark, frenetic and somewhat lethal, while on the other hand being incredibly beautiful at times, showing a soft and vulnerable underbelly under the scarred carapace.

The other stand-out line (and, it should be noted, all of the lyrics are in English) is on their very first single "Moralist S.S.," a song original released on their debut EP of the same name. Chanted several times is the line "Obeying my steady view / I bring you down." Again, this rather ominous statement could be seen as coming from either the protagonist or from an outside source, being a positive or negative idea. Either way, it's an obvious show of superiority through a sort of silent intimidation. Something almost vampiric.

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"Moralist S.S."


The fight between these dark and light feelings runs throughout Part of Grace. The biggest contributing factor has to be front-man KENT's baritone vocals. His low-register delivery is something unique not only in Japanese singers specifically, but in most modern post-punk styles in general. He doesn't croon in that mid to high falsetto so often seen in arty, beard wearing young bands trying to prove their emotional fragility though some sort of coquettish, effeminate boy. No, KENT plays the dark, brooding, well dressed mysterioso to a "t." The album's production follows suit, itself being raw and devoid of artifice. This is likely due in no small part to the fact the KENT produced the entire album, as well as writing all the words and music. The music sometimes echoes in a damp cave, sometimes creeps right up into your ear, but its intentions are always a very clear "beware."

All of this isn't to say that the band is crushingly brooding or always serious. They come for them school of "fun" goth right, if there can be such a thing in these post irony days. Everything they do has a definite pulse, a life that makes the songs infectious and groovy. Some more than others, like the swaggering "Unmade Schemer" and the desert-washed "Grind." There are also the pop-tinged "Wreckage" and "Part of Grace," the latter of which is an actual ballad of sorts. The album is bookended with two hidden gems, the opener "ARGO" and closer "Upsetter." Again, that theme of dark and light are in full force, with both songs full of very pretty melodies surrounded by a smoky darkness and melancholy. Both songs hint at an urgent need to "be let go," of misunderstanding and of being trapped. Of a feeling that there must be something more to life.

"Wreckage"


Perhaps it's this unbalanced feeling, the thought that what you know is wrong and that there has to be something, not necessarily better, but something "else" that helps make part of Grace such a fascinating work. Of course KENT and his band are working in a certain genre, but at the same time they manage to avoid all of the clichés, both in tone and production. The astonishing thing is that Part of Grace is only their first full album after being together for only a couple of years. It is a tremendously strong first step toward what we can only hope will be a long and prolific career.

You can buy Lillies and Remains CDs here and get all of their releases from iTunes.