I WILL WRITE A MYSTERY FOR YOU TO SOLVE: An Oral History of Lilys' Astonishing Eccsame The Photon Band

|| by EDWARD CHARLTON || [updated] This month marks the 20th anniversary of the release of Lilys' powerful and mysterious Eccsame The Photon Band, a unique collection even among the oeuvre of Kurt Heasley, the band's notably restless songwriter and only constant member. For our money, it is certainly one of the most engaging -- if underheard -- indie rock albums of the '90s. Like a lot of great music, the album's creation owes a debt to that rare and singular cocktail of youth: chance, environment and a positive open-mindedness shared among the four men who created it. "Behold and open to the light," translates the title -- a sentiment that seems to have guided the principals behind it from the foursome's very first minute together.

As we listened to Mr. Heasley, drummer Harry Evans and producer Rich Costey tell the story of the album, we found that Eccsame The Photon Band was a roughly month-long flash of exhaustive inspiration -- a gnawing, melodic, experimental expression that sprang into being so suddenly it felt as if it were over nearly as soon as it had begun. Despite that, the music and production contained therein has continued to resonate with those involved, as well as with a fanatical cult following attracted to its atypical dream-pop charms. Among those, cryptic lyrics, crestfallen textures, occasional moments of loud guitar and a spiritual and devastating silence all continue to stun. To mark the aforementioned anniversary, Clicky Clicky spoke with Mssrs. Heasley, Evans and Costey about the summer of 1994, discussing a wide-range of topics including the philosophies, drum sounds and even the studio weeping that birthed a rare and unique aural document.

"I can't deviate out of the moment -- you get into the game of expectations, then you get into the game of disappointment," Heasley tells Clicky Clicky from his present home in Los Angeles. The sentiment arrives early in our conversation about the album, and it quickly becomes apparent that Eccsame was (and is) something of a mission statement for just that mentality.

The genesis of that notion came two years prior to the creation of Eccsame, spurred by some of the negative reception to Lilys' magnificent and now-legendary 1992 shoegaze debut full-length, In The Presence of Nothing. "I had no idea people would listen to this," he says of that collection, "Much less feel so strongly [about it]. It was ultimately just a group of friends making something in a basement for a few hours. I took it as the most extreme feelings [from some in the scene] of being left out of their own party."

Disappointed, but confident in the power of his on-the-fly approach, Heasley began to see how the band's process might function in the face of more standard and predictable musical norms.

In the wake of the flawless, power-pop injected A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns EP that was released the next year, Heasley made some life changes that would further create the conditions for an experiment like Eccsame. "I had new urban experiences because I had moved from Lancaster [Pennsylvania] into Philadelphia proper, living with some incredible people," he said, "Joey Sweeney let me sleep on his girlfriend's couch for weeks. It was just this ongoing live/work/play space and the amount of literature, cinema and old records that I was being turned on to for the first time was great. There, I had the feeling of going from 22 to 23, and the prevailing wisdom that 23 is the best worst year of your life. Slowly, there were responsibilities creeping in and the realization that 'this is not a dress rehearsal.'"

At the same time, the alternative/grunge zeitgeist of the prior several years was beginning to breed bad vibes. Not only did Kurt Cobain's death in the spring of '94 mark a dramatic shift in the mood of rock culture, but recent records by Talk Talk's Mark Hollis and Pale Saint's Ian Masters alerted Heasley to the loss of fidelity and subtlety in those buzzing times. "Those gated drums in '92," he exclaimed with a sigh. A trip to a Broadway production later that year would also make an impression on him. "Listening to what a five-piece pit orchestra could do literally blew me apart. Working from that level where everyone plays their part and has mastered themselves revealed a new world."

In the winter following the release of A Brief History Of Amazing Letdowns, Heasley began sketching out some fresh ideas. Those recordings would ultimately be released on 2000's Tigerstyle Records split with Aspera Ad Astra. As a historical document, the four songs reveal a remarkably clear vision of the minimal, dreamy sound that would ultimately define Eccsame -- what Stylus Magazine writer Andrew Unterberger described as "Not influenced by shoegazing as a genre, but rather as a principle."

It was time to enter the studio.

That summer, spinART Records agreed to provide five weeks of time at Studio .45, a converted turn-of-the-century Colt firearms factory in Hartford, Connecticut. It was also at that point that Harry Evans of power-pop standouts Poole and producer Rich Costey entered the picture.

Evans had known Heasley for a few years by '94, and had played on every Lilys release beginning with Presence. The two first met due to being physically larger guys in the scene who looked similar and both showed up at the same music store. "I was shopping there and somebody called me (Kurt's nickname) 'Wally' and I was like, 'no, I'm Harry!'" Evan says, laughing, "We happened to be at the store at the same time eventually and recognized each other due to that mix up. We started hanging out and eventually he asked me if I wanted to play drums for him. He played me "February Fourteenth" and I was like 'What the hell! Of course!'"

Following the release of A Brief History and the subsequent shows for that record, Heasley approached him with an idea. "Kurt was like, 'I want to make a record, and I want it to just be you and me.' He booked a lot of time. I hadn't heard any of the material, but he said we could learn it in the studio. Having faith in anything Kurt does, I agreed immediately," Evans reflects. That summer, the two loaded up a van with gear and made the trek to Hartford. There, they met producer Costey and engineer Mike Deming. Costey had been chosen based on work he had done with scene compatriots The Swirlies.

"I was doing a few records for spinART around that time, and at some point I ended up on a phone call with Kurt," Costey remembers, “He was an interesting character on the phone, and I still remember my first phone call with him -- rambling on and on whilst puffing on cigarettes the whole time. We must have connected somewhat. I liked the psychedelic aspect to [Lilys'] music a lot, based only on the album they had out the year before, and given the general monochromatic, conservative landscape of American grunge at that time, Kurt's music struck me as being a total technicolor garden. I had worked with The Swirlies, whom I think he begrudgingly respected, but those two bands were actually quite different in approach. The Swirlies were fighting their own limitations whereas Kurt never saw or felt any limitations at all... [He] was inventing his own landscape."

Setting up on the first day, Heasley and Evans filled out Studio .45's large, single-room with their instruments. Beginning at dusk, the duo at first had a hard time connecting. "On the first day we set everything up, Kurt was going to guide me through the songs," said Evans, "We started recording really late, but it was just not clicking. The first song we were working on was "FBI And Their Toronto Transmitters." Eventually I got super frustrated. While I had told myself initially that I was going to be really sober and work as hard as possible during the session, we ultimately took a break and I got REALLY high. We went back in and nailed it in the first take. I was like, "Aw, this is really disappointing (chuckles)."

"For the first 10 days Costey probably didn't think they were songs!," Heasley added.

After these initial hurdles, the duo settled into a groove, with Evans adapting to Heasley's ideas and advice regarding drumming. "There was a methodical thought to the way that the fills were put together. He really helped me to curb my ego, and I was willing to say 'I will listen to your ideas.' Ultimately, they proved to be great ideas. I had to be open," Evans remembered.

The songs gradually came together over the ensuing weeks, and many of the album's iconic textures began to take focus -- specifically, the massive, roomy drum sound that many Eccsame cultists rave about.

Costey recited the technical details for accomplishing this with aplomb. "The drum sound was a combination of several things: the hard, open space that the live room at Studio .45 presented; a precisely placed AKG 414 placed in between the kick and snare drums, aimed at the floor... heavily compressed with a Spectrasonics 610 compressor; and also the minimal and incredibly powerful, tasteful playing of Harry Evans. Listening to it today, it seems a study in how a drummer should play to the sound presented to him or her, as opposed to the other way around."

Mike Deming is also credited by the other three as being instrumental to the presentation. "I’ve got to credit him for that drum sound. He was a twisted, evil audio genius. He was crazy and so into what he did on a micro level," said Evans, referencing at least obliquely the album's often overwhelming negative space, best heard in the long, faraway intro and subsequent eruption of focus on "The Turtle Which Died Before Knowing."

Other subtle, genius moments were entirely due to chance. On some songs, different takes were mixed together and the resulting edits created things that thrilled everyone in the control room. "A couple of those moments where the vibrato on the guitar shifts patterns -- we couldn't have planned that, but that's the thing! We were open not necessarily to it being correct, but to it being right for what it was," Heasley said.

Other moments betrayed the quieter vibe with sheer power. "The Hermit Crab," "Kodiak (Reprise)" and "Radiotricity" all rock in places, despite being composed mostly with clean, bass string strums. Costey explains that the amping of the guitars went a long way in lending huge power to a quiet source, "One simple thing Kurt was doing with his guitar sounds at the time was to run two different tremolo pedals into two different amps," he said, "It's really simple, of course, but it made for an off-kilter, drunken, gurgling guitar sound that completely shaped the feel of the record."

Elsewhere, such as on the down-tempo lullaby-pop of "Day Of The Monkey," Costey sampled Evans' drums to create a hypnotic loop, later adding room recordings of him playing along to himself to add to the overall sonic fantasia.

The collaborative aspect between the four also played a key role in the shape of the album. "He had done Swirlies records," said Heasley of Costey, "So I was like 'throw me whatever note you think should be in this melody.' I think you can only do so many records where that special and fun ability exists."

As the sessions wrapped up, it was also clear that the process of achieving the album's menthol-cool psychedelia had thoroughly exhausted Heasley. Much of the tracking came down to the wire, and many of his vocal parts had to be recorded at the end in a prolonged series of takes.

"I spent the final 18 hours of tracking in the vocal booth," Heasley recalled, "By the time we were working on "Hubble" I was completely drained by the process, from all these different drives that went into the album. You can hear me crying at one point. I couldn't even stand, I was propped in a chair." Costey, aware of the strain and the reality of the moment, let the tape run. What followed was personal, uncomfortable and brilliant.

It's apparent when Heasley talks about "Hubble" that the song is special to him, referring to it as the closing sequence of the booster of the space shuttle falling to Earth. More importantly, it's a fitting end to the hyper-productive sessions that produced a collection of songs that were not only spacey-sounding, but physically so. Costey took the tapes to Water Studios in Hoboken, New Jersey and Philip Glass' The Looking Glass studio in New York for the rest of the post-production. There, he added many of the synth textures and final mixing details. SpinART had the album out by the end of the year.

And then... it was over.

"Kurt moved to California, I believe, shortly after we made the record," said Evan. "I feel like nobody really got it, understood it or appreciated it when it came out." No shows were played to support the release, which somehow makes the recording all the more mythical.

Within a year, Heasley transformed Lilys into the mod-rock powerhouse that would define the next phase of the group, with songs like "Nanny In Manhattan" (a version of which was recorded during the Eccsame sessions but lost with the master tapes) broadening the exposure of the band and leading to a record deal with Sire. Evans would continue a successful run as the frontman of indie pop savants Poole, an act that also recorded for spinART. Lastly, Costey would use his resume with bands from the East Coast dream-pop and 'gaze scene to begin work in Los Angeles, eventually engineering and producing a seemingly endless list of big-name musical personalities including Sigur Ros, Fiona Apple, Nine Inch Nails, Muse, Foo Fighters and self-professed Swirlies fans Mew, among many others.

Despite the very abrupt end to the Eccsame phase of Lilys, and the scattering of its participants, it is apparent that the three remember the time in the studio fondly, and all have an unshakable faith in the final product.

"I felt pretty good about the album when we had finished it," Costey adds, "It seemed fresh, inventive, and colorful. Kurt's writing isn't miles away from Syd Barrett territory, but as opposed to Syd, Kurt's lyrics were open and personal. I had hoped that it would be recognized a bit more for what I felt was something pretty unique at that time: Psychedelic indie with heavy fuzz, samplers, and 808s -- but it seemed to never really get the attention it deserved. Kurt went straight to The Kinks' Muswell Hillbillies [as the template] for his next album and finally had his talent recognized, but in the process it had always felt to me that Eccsame was just overlooked."

Most importantly though, the sense of trust between the album's principals appears to be the most defining and memorable part of the era. Listening to Evans and Heasley, in particular, speak of their relationship during that time illuminates a connection between kindred souls, a pair determined to create and build as a unit.

"I could never have that kind of naive trust again. You basically get [it] once." Heasley added somberly.

At times during this reflection, it shows that both might harbor some desire to work together again. In the age of '90s dream-pop band reunions, with acts including Slowdive, Medicine, Ride and My Bloody Valentine thrilling audiences once more, it wouldn't be seem that unusual for an influential lineup of Lilys to get back together, hopefully even for new music.

"He knows that I'm willing to work with him anywhere, anytime. At the drop of a hat, I'm in," Evans proclaimed, ever the dedicated bandmate, ignoring the thousands of miles between them.

That possibility is a dream for this blog, at least, and it is dreaming big that brought together those men in 1994 -- hedging their bets on chance and understanding. But big dreams can live on in unusual ways, and funny enough, it is because of the Lilys that this scribe first spoke to this editor at Clicky Clicky some five years ago. And, because of all of that, it has ultimately brought you, dear reader, to what may not yet be the final chapter in the story of a very special and evolving piece of art.

"Behold and open to the light."

Currently, Eccsame The Photon Band is out of print (spinART folded in 2007), and both CD and vinyl copies command steep prices in the collectors' market. Heasley has been negotiating the reissue of In The Presence Of Nothing and two other unspecified titles, and also the release of new music, according to news we reported here in March. Through the murky magic of the Internet, you can listen to selections from Eccsame via the YouTube playlist posted below. -- Edward Charlton



SELECTED PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
In Bloom: Lilys Poised For Massive Resurgence; New Music, Reissues And Live Performances Planned
That Was The Show That Was: Lilys with Prefab Messiahs | Lilypad | 15 June
That Was The Show That Was: Lilys | Lilypad | 25 May
A N D I F O R G O T A L O N G T I M E A G O H O W Y O U F E E L : ten now acts perform selections from the early recordings of Lilys, 1991-1995
20: Lilys | In The Presence Of Nothing
Today's Hotness: Lilys
YouTube Rodeo: Lilys' Amazing "YCJCYAQFTD," "A Nanny In Manhattan," "Baby's A Dealer"
Footage: Lorelei Cover Lilys' "February 14th" | Slumberland 20th Anniversary
Today's Hotness: Lilys
Today's Hotness: Lilys
750 Times The Same Song: It's All About The Lilys

Footage: Poole's "Supermerica"

You know, you think you know everything there is to know about a band (or at least everything you want to know), and then something happens to make you realize that's pretty impossible. Such is the case with D.C.-based (we thought it was Harrisonburg, VA, but we're too lazy to dig out a 7" to check that) indie rock act Poole, which between 1992 and 1999 released a series of albums and singles on the dearly departed Spin-Art label. We were a pretty hardcore Spin-Art devotee in 1993 or 1994, about the time we enountered Poole's amazing -- AMAZING -- "Mary Shakes Her Hair" b/w "Car" and "Meredyth On A Monday" single. The full-length Alaska Days followed, from which the pop confection "Supermerica" is taken, although two of the aforementioned single tracks were re-recorded for the set as well.

But what is interesting -- well, to us, and beside the fact that this isn't the most obvious track to get the video treatment on the record -- is that the version of the track in this video is different from the album version. The video version has a completely new and pleasantly chunky synth line riding the mix, the vocal is boosted, and the guitars sound as if someone took the two-inch tape and ran it back through the mixer with the "grunge radio unit" button depressed. But really, it's that synth line that is the big surprise. You, dear reader, have probably heard neither version, but we recommend you feast your ears and eyes on the power pop bliss out above. It makes us miss the '90s a lot. Buy Alaska Days used and cheap cheap at Amazon right here.

Be Prepared: Tiny Idols Vol. III, Transmissions From The Indie Underground 1991-1995 | 6 July

The rejuvenated Snowglobe Records returns next month with the third installment of its increasingly crucial Tiny Idols indie rarities compilations. And Vol. III is a doozy, featuring seminal tracks from important but under-appreciated acts including Small Factory, Poole, Fudge and The Coctails. The series is curated by our former Junkmedia colleague Mark Griffey, and based on the track listing he has certainly outdone himself once again. Tiny Idols Vol. III: Transmissions From The Indie Underground 1991-1995 will be released July 6 on Snowglobe Records, but you can already pre-order it at this link. Here is the full running order:

1. Sardina -- I'll Be Around
2. Small Factory -- What To Want
3. Vacation Bible School -- Sugar Juice
4. Hazeltones -- Delirious
5. The Coctails -- 2000
6. It Thing -- Send
7. Poole -- Loon
8. The Christines -- Too Close
9. HoneyBunch -- Endure Me
10. Witch Hazel -- Just Don't Try
11. Apollonia Heck -- Today is a Fine Day to Die
12. Radon -- Kibbles and Bits
13. Glue -- No Surprise
14. Honda -- Bruce Jenner
15. Zoom -- Balboa's Cannon
16. Zen Frisbee -- Crazy Steven
17. Baldo Rex -- The Girl With 10,000 Holes
18. Kicking Giant -- Satellite
19. Crayon -- Pedal
20. Her Tears -- Ultra Crush
21. Fudge -- Girlwish
22. Aleka's Attic -- Senile Felines

The Hush Now | Great Scott, Boston | 6 March

The Hush Now, Boston's shape-shifting and somewhat reclusive indie pop juggernaut, is finally getting around to having a record release party for its solid sophomore effort Constellations. Longtime readers will recall that the band is somewhere in the midst of fronter and primary songwriter Noel Kelly's five-year plan, and that Mr. Kelly isn't afraid to work multiple records at the same time. So, really, it should be no surprise that The Hush Now is having a record release party almost five months after the local release of Constellations. Given the unique way Kelly conducts business, we wouldn't be surprised to learn that he's got one or more new records in the can already. But that is just speculation.

What is fact is that this show is Saturday night, and that The Hush Now has authorized us to give away three CD/shot glass combo packs to help promote the show. So here's the deal: the first three fans to send us an email (to the address linked in the sidebar) with the subject line "Don't Think About Tomorrow" will win one of these combo packs, which you can either pick up at the show this weekend, or The Hush Now's winged monkeys will mail it to you. How's that for awesome? The band has been giving away Constellations for free from its web site right here, so if you are not yet a believer, hit that link. To whet your appetite we're posting the excellent title track below. We reviewed Constellations here last August.

The Hush Now -- "Constellations" -- Constellations
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[download the entire record here]

The Hush Now: Internerds | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Previous Hush Now Coverage:
YouTube Rodeo: The Hush Now's "Wishing You A Very Merry Christmas"
YouTube Rodeo: The Hush Now's "Constellations"
Today's Hotness: The Hush Now
Back To Now: The Hush Now Interview With Noel Kelly
In The Studio With... The Hush Now
Review: The Hush Now -- The Hush Now

Back To Now: The Hush Now Interview With Noel Kelly

For a band whose history notably features a major car accident and a flood, guitarist and singer Noel Kelly's The Hush Now certainly seems to operate as agent of Fate's whimsy. Which is why we were surprised when we checked in with Mr. Kelly recently ahead of Thursday's record release party for the Boston-based quintet's well-received, self-titled 2008 debut. Surprised because Kelly talks of a five-year plan and of having songs ready for a third record, despite the fact that as of this writing he had not finished a second that was begun last summer prior to the release of The Hush Now. Kelly -- whose music recalls '90s indie pop stars Poole and Sire-signed stand-outs The Ocean Blue -- plans to complete tracking for album 2 this weekend, and speaks with striking confidence about making things work on his own terms with a new band content to ignore the music industry ladder historically seen as the best way up.

CC: We met last summer and you come across as a mellow but passionate guy. That said, there are a lot of things about The Hush Now that are kind of topsy-turvy. You began recording your second record last summer months before you formally released your first. Before finishing your second record, you put together a different line-up of the band. Has anything about The Hush Now gone the way you planned?

NK: Actually, everything is going much better than planned, if you can believe that. I know it probably doesn’t look that way from the outside, but there is a pretty methodical approach behind what probably looks like relative chaos. Other than the scramble with line-up changes (BTW, the new line-up is super -- great people, great songwriters, great musicians – it's always good to know you're the weakest in the room), I think things are really flowing well. I'll attempt to explain though why things seem a bit out of order compared to the usual "band forms, band plays, band records, band tours" paradigm.

I wrote some tunes while living in Portland, OR but I wasn't sure how my sound might translate. I wanted to put together an album and see if there was any real promise there. Although it's not exactly cheap to record these days, it's not entirely impossible. There I was 2 years ago living in a basement (I'm a bit of a recluse), with no money left and I thought, "I don’t think anybody else is going to pay to make this album." So off I went to Boston to find a job that could pay for the album.

The first line-up was a miracle. Moving to a new city and finding musicians who are interested in playing somebody else's music is a really difficult task, especially if you're not quite the social butterfly. Barry, Mike and Kurt just got it. And having Dave Newton, who I was already comfortable with, produce the album just brought everything together. So we knocked out the first album in LA and Joshua Tree. It was like a vacation for me. Good times.

It was at this point (and with Dave's encouragement) I decided to push the album out to the world. I wanted to make sure the effort was more than a vanity project though. After years in [my old band] Cerulean and scratching my head over why we were never able to sustain a higher level of interest, I really backed up and tried to deconstruct not only the efforts of a band trying to gain exposure, but also what I really wanted as a musician and as an artist. In the end, I decided I really just want people to hear the music and if so inspired, maybe come to a show. I had/have no delusions of grandeur with expectations of signing a label deal.

I figured the best alternative was to just invest in myself and the band. So I drew up a 3-5 year plan and pretty much started dumping all my energy and income into The Hush Now. Understanding some of the shortcomings of Cerulean, I decided it was best to always have an album ready to be released. I never planned for The Hush Now's success to be tied to one single album, but rather a succession of albums that gained more and more momentum. So, six months after we finished the first album, I had a new batch of songs ready and we jumped back in the studio. I'm finishing tracking on album 2 this weekend and planning to record album 3 this summer. If all I ever accomplish with any of this is to create some pretty cool music that some folks dig, then I'll consider that success. Anything else is just icing on the cupcake, as they say.

CC: Let's talk about the new line-up. Who do you have doing what in this iteration of the band? Where did you dig them up? Which was the hardest slot to fill?

NK: First, let me say that both Kurt Schneider [who plays keys with Boston indie geniuses This Car Up. -- Ed.] and Mike DiMinno were invaluable in creating the sound on the first two records. Unfortunately, things didn't work out for different reasons –- nothing personal. We're still great friends. That being said, the new line-up is soooo good. I'm really lucky. Everybody has a unique ear and all are stellar musicians. We have a soft spot for similar bands and understand the idea of making music that gets people moving.

John Charpentier I found on Craig's List. He’s a huge Elliot Smith fan and a great guitarist/songwriter. Mike Wittrien responded to an ad as well. Usually finding a bass player is always the most difficult thing in the world. Not only did I find one, but Mike is out of this world. He is a musician’s musician. Barry brought John Millar into the fold on keys. John just fits in really nicely. He's also the youngin' in the band at 22 years old. There were no tryouts or auditions. I just met the guys for drinks and if we hit it off, they were in. I just got lucky that they all turned out to be phenomenal. The spot that worried me the most though, was filling the drummer slot. Barry had originally just come on board for the albums only, but when he decided to join the band full time, it was a huge weight lifted. He really is that fucking good. You can build something around a good drummer. Otherwise, you’re fucked. Now, I just don't want to let these guys down.

Would you say the new line-up has made the material on the self-titled record its own, or is the new Hush Now such a fresh commodity that it is just hoping to just nail the material as it is on the record at the record release show?

With new players, there's always going to be interpretations of the music. It's a fine line. On one hand you want them to recreate the album, but not to an extent where their playing becomes stale. It's always better if a musician makes the music their own in some way so they are playing rather than executing. It's been so long since I've looked at the songs from the first album that I even had to learn the music myself with the band. But I think we're getting there. We're going to be good.

CC: The self-titled record made a respectable showing on the CMJ Top 200, which was quite a feat for a band that at that point, well, kind of didn't exist, am I right? What can you tell us about any plans to get out and tour the record to try to capitalize on the good showing at radio?

NK: Yeah, I was really happy with how well the debut did. We charted in the top 100 for weeks and even started getting spins from commercial radio. The coolest is that Steve Lamacq from BBC 6 is playing us. What an honor, ya know? And you're right, we didn't exist. But that's what's so great about the new media outlets today. If you put together a quality product and get it out there, there's always the chance somebody will pick up on it. The key I'm finding is patience followed quickly by persistence... and getting a great team of folks involved that believe in the music and are self-starters. I think some folks get worried about fucking up or saying or doing the wrong thing. Who gives a shit, really? I always look at problems as something to solve. I work with engineers during the day and they approach problems the complete opposite way. They point out every reason why you can’t do something. That mindset is fucking paralyzing and it drives me insane. Really, what's the worst thing that's going to happen... all lessons learned. Personally, I thrive on scars, because I tend to fuck up quite a bit, but it keeps me energized. As long as you're honest, people will forgive mistakes.

Anyway, off the soapbox... We’re planning shows on the east coast for the spring as well as a couple of tours of England and Scotland (anybody know of cheap fares out there?). Because we all have day gigs, it makes it difficult to take off for months on end right now... but I'm positive that day will come. I'd love to get the guys over to play some west coast shows as well. And of course, we'd love to play the CMJ festival and SXSW next year. Hopefully the new album will create enough buzz to make those a reality.

CC: Can we expect to hear any songs from the second album Thursday night? And what can you tell us about a release date or label for that set?

NK: Actually, you'll get to hear a song from the third album. How's that for being fucked up and out of order? It's a great song though that the new line-up had a hand in creating, so we're all really excited about it. It's an exciting indicator of where the music will grow. The new album will be released to radio this coming October with a single dropping in June/July. I have my brother singing opera, my sister on flute and clarinet and brother-in-law on trumpet. I'm pretty excited how the album is coming together. We're going to offer the album for free download again. I think musicians/bands have to start thinking of approaching the "music business" (whatever that is) differently these days. People are going to get the album free anyway, why fight it? And fuck it, I'm not making the music for me to listen to alone. My father made a living supporting a family of six playing gigs. It wasn't a lavish lifestyle, but he did what he loved and we turned out OK. Sure, it wasn't always glamorous for him, but let me tell you, there's nothing like watching your father's Irish band play Michael Jackson's "Beat It." I wish I had that on tape.

The Hush Now plays T.T. The Bear's in Cambridge, Mass. Thursday night. Tonight the quintet plays a live radio session for Pipeline! on MIT's 88.1 WMBR-FM.

The Hush Now -- "Bedtime Stories" -- The Hush Now
The Hush Now -- "Ashes" -- The Hush Now
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The Hush Now: Internet | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Review: The Hush Now -- The Hush Now [MP3]

Recently constituted Boston quartet The Hush Now trade in light but dense guitar pop in the mold of the great U.K. guitar bands of the mid- and late '80s. Bands like The House Of Love, as well as certain American successors including The Ocean Blue and Poole. All of which makes The Hush Now's self-titled debut -- perhaps with the exception of odd, throw-away Irish folksy bookending tracks that continue to perplex us -- a very enjoyable way to spend three-quarters of an hour. Mid-tempo strummer "Vancouver" provides a schematic of what the band is about: melodic guitar lines cascade, Weezer-y synths underscore, hands clap time and lyrics float gently. The rocking album highlight "Sadie Hawkins Dance" is an irresistible bit of bubblegum-leaning romance featuring fronter Noel Kelly's understated but yearning murmur ("who said I didn't want what you wanted?"). Online promo track "Traditions," which we first wrote about here last month, has a hypnotizing verse that somewhat softens the chorus' demand "just sit down and shut up, and don't speak 'cause there's nothing wrong." The syncopation of deep track "Roleplay" recalls The Ocean Blue's "Marigold," from that band's landmark record Cerulean (which, incidentally, was the name of Mr. Kelly's previous, Los Angeles-based band).

The Hush Now will be self-released in late October. The band already has its sights set on a follow-up, which it begins recording this week with producer David Newton (formerly of The Mighty Lemon Drops). We'll be dropping in on the sessions and will file some sort of report thereafter. In the meantime, check out the upbeat (and particularly Poole-ish) throbber "Sadie Hawkins Dance" from the forthcoming debut, which the band was cool enough to let us offer to you.

The Hush Now -- "Sadie Hawkins Dance" -- The Hush Now
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[watch NewburyComics.com or the band's MySpace dojo for pre-order info]

The Hush Now: Internets | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr

Today's Hotness: Johnny Foreigner, The Feelies, Ladytron

>> So that third single from Johnny Foreigner's amazing full-length Waited Up Til It Was Light? For "Salt, Peppa and Spinderella?" That we previously told you would be out Sept. 1 on Best Before in the UK? Now it is coming out on Sept. 8. The Birmingham, England-based trio will push the single (and the album) with still more in an endless line of tour dates, this time a short strand from Sept. 21 to Oct. 5 with newly minted labelmates Dananananaykroyd. We don't know what the b-side to the single will contain, perhaps a cut from a radio session? Incidentally, have any of you Johnny Foreigner fans out there been catching those UK radio sessions and turning them into MP3s? If so, please send them along. With the difference in time zones it is just too difficult for us to keep track of. We reviewed Waited Up Til It Was Light right here.

>> NYCTaper has the second set of The Feelies' recent show at Maxwell's. We've only listened to the first two tracks, but it seems like a nice recording, albeit a little quiet. Snatch it here.

>> It is with a heavy heart that we note the passing of the excellent music blog You Shall Know Our Discography, which posted this goodbye June 30. The blog posted many rare and many more excellent songs from superlative '90s records and compilations. Most recently it posted about Jiffy Boy Records' thoroughly excellent Ten Cent Fix compilation CD, which features great tracks from Barnabys, Poole, Grifters, Lilys and many others. A tip of the hat to you, Mr. Discography. Your blog will be missed. Here are two of our favorite tracks from Ten Cent Fix:

Barnabys -- "Gargamel" -- Ten Cent Fix: A Jiffy Boy Records Compilation
Slow Children Playing -- "Thirteen" -- Ten Cent Fix: A Jiffy Boy Records Compilation
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[search the Internerdz for a copy; we couldn't find one for sale anywhere]

>> If we had money to hire a correspondent to cover shows, and he was interested, we would first ask Keith from The Dead Part Of You. His colorful but blunt assessments are a pleasure to read, and we particularly enjoyed his take on the recent Ladytron show at Boston's Paradise Rock Club. Check it out here.

Today's Hotness: The Halo Bit, Poole, Johnny Foreigner

>> The truth is that for the indie music fan the Internet provides solutions to most problems. Access to releases, or at least information about releases, is usually never more than a Google search away. That said, one problem that prevails -- and that we already discussed in last week's post about Silkworm -- is the lack of availability for sale proper digital versions of vinyl singles. In most cases when we've ripped vinyl the result has been less than satisfactory. But that problem presumes we own the record we're interested in. Alas, small labels that never really made any money in the first place might not see much point of going to the trouble of getting their releases digitized for sale online. And, alas, there are several instances in which we'd argue that an original mix for a vinyl single is superior to a subsequent mix or recording made available on CD. All of this is a long way of saying we sure wish someone would make available the singles issued by the now-defunct but once-crucial indie Spin-Art. Our own vinyl rips of the label's superlative singles from the Alex Kemp-fronted The Halo Bit ("Stay Away For A While" + 2, SPART 12) and Virginia's Poole ("Mary Shakes Her Hair" + 2, SPART 15) don't sound all that great. Maybe we need to get one of those USB turntables. Anyway, here are the aforementioned jams, as ripped by us, for what it's worth. Do you have a better-quality rip of these singles? Drop us an email, and secure our undying gratitude. Incidentally, the image above is a poorly rendered excerpt from the cover of The Halo Bit's nice full length -- we were too lazy to scan the sleeves for either of the singles tonight.

The Halo Bit -- "Stay Away For A While" -- "Stay Away For A While" b/w "Peggy + Helen" and "Dad's House"
Poole -- "Meredyth On A Monday" -- "Mary Shakes Her Hair" b/w "Meredyth On A Monday" and "Car"
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[hunt for the singles at MusicStack here and here]

>> We had an inkling based on activity we were seeing in our hit logs and these posts at Death To Music and Keep Hope Inside confirm that Johnny Foreigner's Waited Up Til It Was Light has leaked. Considering promos were being offered a week or so ago -- which we're still crossing our fingers that we might receive -- the development is no surprise. DTM's Tom did the yeoman's work of doing a quick track-by-track assessment, but we've only scanned it, as we want to preserve the rush we'll surely get when we hear the full record for the first time.

750 Times The Same Song: It's All About The Lilys

[This is our 750th post. We're celebrating by fixating on one of our favorite bands, Kurt Heasley's long-running musical nebula known as Lilys. As we hold the band in such high esteem, we expect the Lilys' music is a subconscious yard stick we measure everything against. Weird but true. -- Ed.]

We've swapped emails with people lately about the Lilys' transcendent guitar bliss-out "Ginger" being used in the soundtrack to a recent car commercial. We certainly love hearing what is perhaps our favorite song of all time unexpectedly pop up on the TeeVee. Still, we dislike having it tied to the promotion of a luxury brand that the reductionist in us believes exists solely to enslave blah blah blah (incidentally, "Ginger" was also used to promote a popular branded fragrance in the mid-'90s). But we digress. Our point is, we were looking around for the car commercial to post when we learned that the Lilys' MySpace hacienda has been updated of late and is offering for free download the amazing tracks "The Hermit Crab" and "Dandy." The former is from the peerless 1995 record Eccsame The Photon Band, and the latter from perhaps the best EP ever released, 1994's A Brief History Of Amazing Letdowns. To save you the trip, we're posting the two tracks below. Both records were released on Spin-Art and to our knowledge both records are out of print. Fortunately, they are available at ITunes and Rhapsody (come on EMusic, pony up for the Spin-Art catalog -- especially the Small Factory stuff, which no one seems to have digitally).

Curiously, the Spin-Art Records web site seems to have disappeared; the label does maintain a MySpace dojo, but we think eschewing a real web site is an odd choice for such an established label (especially since they haven't logged into their page since April). Did the label shut down when that one fellow started TuneCore? No matter, what is important to know today is that ITunes has for sale the Lilys record The Lilys, which is the UK version of Precollections with three additional tracks recorded with producer Mike Musmanno. This record isn't available domestically, even though it appears Rainbow Quartz was involved with the release somehow, so unless you want to pay import prices, ITunes is your best choice for getting The Lilys. As far as an update on the band, the Lilys' MySpace suggests Mr. Heasley relocated to Florida at some point last year. There's no word about future recordings, although there is one live date listed: Nov. 23 in Somerset, England.

Lilys -- "Dandy" -- A Brief History Of Amazing Letdowns
Lilys -- "The Hermit Crab" -- Eccsame The Photon Band
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[buy Lilys records from ITunes here]

Lilys: InterWeb | MySpace | YouTube | Flickr