Lilys - The 3 Way (1999)

Thirty-six minutes of recombinant retro bliss, The 3 Way is a keen, direly enjoyable experiment. Replace the wide-eyed optimism of the Elephant Six clan with real and implied decadence, or add cojones to Belle and Sebastian's fey dandyism and voilà: Lilys. A smart British person wrote about their groundbreaking, delectable 1996 disc, Better Can't Make Your Life Better, that the Lilys sound like every decent '60s band--playing all at once. But these days the group leans more heavily toward the Zombies' organ-savvy pop or the Kinks' high-spirited, melodic bashing. Two ways in which Lilys' music differs crucially from the la-la-la singing, crunching guitar chording, and bouncy bass-playing inspirations of their influences are the song structure and the words. The 3 Way has more changes than 2112; even the short tunes sound like four different ones stitched together. And the lyrics range from wry, Cardinalesque observations ("Get off on death or don't get off at all") to a call for group nastiness to a drug addict's ode to the pocket mirror he uses to "huff lines until dawn." The last track is a lighthearted, banjo-and-toy-piano-accented skiffle wherein the narrator counsels: "Arriving later than original estimate / Pouring shots while the schedule came and went / Heal yourself till the rescue party's sent / Just keep your mind off your broken neck." --Mike McGonigal