Lilygun - Moonlight

  by Jon Rogers

published: 1 / 5 / 2012

Label: Zeff Records
Format: CDS

intro

Suprisingly subtle hard rock on their second single in their new line-up for London-based band, Lilygun

Lilygun almost didn’t happen. Their singer and guitarist Anna-Christina had a brain haemorrhage at the tail end of 2005, and was lucky to survive. At one point she was told she would be unable to make music again. Thankfully Anna-Christina, however, made a full recovery, and first formed Lilygun as far back as 2007. Since then the London-based hard rock band has had several false starts, releasing two singles and an EP, but being hampered by personnel problems and changes. While the position of bass player remains a revolving door, Lilygun’s line-up has now stabilised to include Belle, who has held the position of drummer and percussionist since 2008, and lead guitarist James Ford who joined the group last year. The group’s first single in their new line-up, ‘Scum’, which came out in January, showed off a band of astonishing vitality. ‘Scum’, in which the operatic-voiced Anna-Christina cajoled a ground down friend not to give up on himself (“There is no need to be a victim of negativity”), adopted the “quiet/loud” sound beloved of so many noisy guitar bands. The loud parts, all grinding guitars and thunderous vocals, proved that here was a band that could rock hard with the best of them. It was, however, the quieter parts that were in many ways more interesting. They revealed that here also was a group of real subtlety, featuring strong interplay between Anna-Christina and Ford, and closing with a gorgeous long fade-out in which their guitars softly, seductively spiralled around each other. With an album promised for later that year, ‘Moonlight’, the line-up’s second single, builds on that subtlety. At over five minutes long, a minute longer than ‘Scum’, it is slower to build up towards a crescendo. “Don’t pretend that you don’t see the difference/Don’t pretend that you don’t notice,” Anna-Christina drawls dreamily, maybe looking back at the Lilygun of then and the Lilygun of now, Meanwhile we get more of those stunning guitar effects, alluringly echoing and shimmering ever upwards. Lilygun have with this second single in this line-up released one of the most beautiful-sounding singles of the year.

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