Los Angeles band Liily ignite with a restless edge in their debut “Toro,” an energized hard rock song fueled by raw tension and passionate fire.
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What constitute’s rock music’s “golden age?” Is it the influential invasions of the 1960s, or the expansive developments and worldwide radio dominance of the 1970s? Perhaps it’s the alternative evolution of the 1990s, or maybe – just maybe – it hasn’t happened yet. Angeleno quintet Liily are pushing the rock genre forward and into a new era of raw tension and passionate fire, as is felt on their relentless debut single “Toro.”
Sun-kissed
Your skin, it makes me beam into your mind
Your eyes are ocean-blue, but I’m seasick
of all your pretty lies on your lipstick
critic…
Listen: “Toro” – Liily
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/486366498?secret_token=s-g4IJI” params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”150″ iframe=”true” /]Released August 17, 2018 via local Southern California indie Flush Records, “Toro” is a ruthless sonic outpouring of determination in the wake of frustration. Liily’s debut single introduces the Los Angeles band exactly as they want to be seen – as something familiar, yet altogether different. The collection of drummer Maxx Morando, guitarist Sam De La Torre, bassist Charlie Anastasis, guitarist Aaron Reeves, and vocalist Dylan Nash, Liily pack a punch to the ears through riff-roaring guitars and emphatic vocals. Their first song is characterized by impassioned, multichromatic hard rock melodies push emotion to the surface, begging for the release of pent-up energies.
All my life wanna take it over…
All my life wanna take it over!
Stranger, do me the most
Look into my eyes
Be the holy to my ghost
Bless me, you stranger
“We’re making rock music that is more than just picking up a guitar,” the band tells Atwood Magazine. “There are few people trying to push the envelope on how you can make original sounding rock music.” Liily consider themselves one of that special few, and “Toro” is evidence enough to suggest they might be right. Calling to mind the likes of early Foo Fighters and Rage Against the Machine as well as modern British rock band Foals, “Toro” is a dark song embroiled in chaos and tumult.
Baby, where’s the dirty love
that you mentioned?
You made me start to
question my own patience
I’m waiting on a knife
to come and save me…
Melodic guitar riffs lay an ambient and intense bed of sound, out of which singer Dylan Nash and the band rise up with fury. “All my life wanna take it over!” he shouts with feverish need in the song’s chorus, seeking relief and release in whatever form it will come. “Stranger, do me the most; look into my eyes, be the holy to my ghost.“
With lyrics like “be the holy to my ghost,” Liily couldn’t possibly go wrong – but “Toro” doesn’t rest on its laurels; the song is rife with restlessness, its narrator plagued by this seemingly unquenchable thirst. It’s an angst most of us know all too well, yet one which still manages to feel fresh and special – as if Liily are singing about this urge for the very first time.
Listen to Liily’s debut single “Toro,” out now on Flush Records, and stay tuned for more as they slowly introduce themselves over the next year. For what it’s worth, we predict Liily will be bursting out of LA to share their defiant, untamed brand of rock with the world in no time.
MEET LIILY
Atwood Magazine: Why debut with “Toro”? How do you feel it introduces you?
Liily: We’ve been a band for a few years now and we feel this song is a solid intro to us, especially our live show. It’s chaotic, energetic, and gets fucking crazy.
I love the raucous, raw energy of the chorus. Can you speak to the significance of this physical release for the band, and for the song?
Liily: There’s been a lot of anticipation on our end and we’ve been really eager to release music. We felt that this song is anxious with excitement, something we’ve been feeling for a while.
“All my life, wanna take it over”.... there's so much tension, a gnawing for something... Why emphasize this line so much? How does its meaning change with repetition?
Liily: We wrote this song at a time when we were frustrated about not being productive. The emphasis and repetition on the lyric represents our eagerness to start being proactive, building through the song.
If I were to say your music reminds me of Foo Fighters, how would you reply?
Liily: That’s a first, we don’t take any influence from them. We’ve heard that we sound like so many bands that seem out of left field like Joy Division, Jane’s Addiction, and a few others. We look to bands like Foals and Rage Against the Machine for inspiration.
You're certainly introducing yourselves as a rock act, in a world that seems to chew rock bands up and spit them out again. What's your take on rock in the 21st century?
Liily: We’re making rock music that is more than just picking up a guitar. There are few people trying to push the envelope on how you can make original sounding rock music. Some may say there isn’t a place for rock these days, but we’ve seen that proven wrong through shows and support here in LA.
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:: stream/purchase “Toro” here ::
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