LILYS - Eccsame The Photon Band LP (colour vinyl)

Limited edition colour vinyl.

Highly recommended.

This is one of the most incredible shoegaze records ever recorded. Lilys have always been known for their ability to record records in pretty much any genre (see their later homages to '60s garage rock and krautrock), but Eccsame the Photon Band is the one record where they created a sound all their own.

In some ways, Eccsame's sound is minimalistic. While it's unmistakably a shoegaze record, the guitar style driving the songs owes more to band like the Byrds and even the Monkees than My Bloody Valentine. Sparkling, spaced out guitar riffs alternate with mysterious empty space, quiet organ drones and at even some virtually inaudible passages that stretch out for minutes. It creates a rare effect in shoegaze where every note is vitally important; and perhaps even more impressive, it's a post-grunge guitar pop record where dynamic shifts are genuinely surprising and important rather than a matter of course.

While it remains a little known album, Eccsame the Photon Band should be in every dream pop and post-rock fan's record collection.