Anyone who has heard the title track of Los Angeles based indie rockers Liily‘s new EP I Can Fool Anybody In This Town will surely have mentally added the words “into believing that we are actually Arctic Monkeys“, given lead singer Nash’s striking similarity to Alex Turner vocally, and the instrumentation isn’t a million miles off the Sheffield trailblazers either.
Delve further in, however, and you realise that you are doing them rather a disservice to suggest that they are in any way a carbon copycat cash-in, especially when you get to the Foals meets Reverend And The Makers glossy dance crossover of ‘Sepulveda Basin‘, for my money by far the strongest track here.
The spit and sizzle of Sam De La Torre’s purposeful lead guitar work is often reminiscent of Interpol’s Daniel Kessler, which elevates what could have been a set of relatively average songs into something altogether more palatable. Most of the time it works pretty well, but I can’t help thinking it’s when they reel it in a little that they shine the brightest. ‘Sold‘ is a case in point, the fairly restrained verses – almost like The Doors at one point – giving way to a bristling, snarly rocker that is highly effective in its simplicity.
The only question mark is whether these songs will still hold up after several plays. I have no doubt that these lads are probably explosive in a live environment, but something tells me that, over time, and with a lot more thought and honing, they are capable of creating something remarkable. I suspect that there are far greater things on the horizon for Liily, but for now, it’s a decent start.
I Can Fool Anybody In This Town EP is released on 15th March through Flush Records.
