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- MP3: Lizz King – Mr. Fella
- MP3: Lizz King – Till They Do
Where do I begin? All Songs Go To Heaven was, to me, quite unprecedented. Honestly, I didn’t even know about its release until Greg posted a preview for Lizz King’s album release party at the Windup Space.
Shows how informed I am. I’m just glad to not have missed out. Now, although there are a number of routes I might take to describe the accomplishment that is All Songs Go To Heaven, none of the obvious directions sit well with me for more than a sentence or two. This record’s brilliance is an odd breed, and I’ve been hunching over my laptop for hours thinking about how I can explain that more substantially. I’m utterly baffled to this moment.
How’s this: All Songs Go To Heaven plays just as well as a singles collection as it does an independent piece of art. Normally that sentence would gather a few intrigued rereads, but what’s even more impressive is that Lizz King’s sound is anti-homogenous in the most extreme sense. And, it being the case that I can’t locate the words in me to present a bona-fide album review, I’d rather talk about how moving each of the tracks are standalone.
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- MP3: Lizz King – Mr. Fella
- MP3: Lizz King – Till They Do
Lizz King is a joy to behold; her opening performance for Daniel Johnston back in 2008 was an astounding moment that still sticks with me today. So, it is with equal joy that I announce local label Ehse Records is finally releasing her debut full-length All Songs Go To Heaven. It is a smoky, almost labyrinthine charmer of an album that channels the spirit of Lizz’s live presence better than I could have imagined. Nearly every track crackles with that raw and naked, imperfect sound that she plys so well. You can almost feel her fingers trailing on her ukulele strings; you can almost see her body alternating between desperate sexual thrusting and slow, hypnotic swaying.
Lizz is easily one of the most complex and compelling acts to rise from within the Wham City ranks. An endlessly imaginative enigma, she operates by stitching together disparate elements of the heart-achingly open country-bluegrass tradition (likely acquired from time spent in rural Maryland and West Virginia), the effervescent, fuzzed-out electronic experimentalism made infamous by her Wham City cohorts, heavy-hitting aspects of soul, and even bumping beats of club music.
You would be wise to head over to the Windup Space this Friday Jan 8th for the official record release show, featuring support from Holy Sheet, Videohippos, and Bethany Dinsick. This also doubles as a send-off show for Lizz’s US tour. For those unfamiliar with Ehse (who released the excellent Harrius and Sejayno records last year), their MP3 downloads operate on the “name-your-price” business model. Real, physical medium (vinyl and CD) costs real, set prices though. All can be had through their website, or at the True Vine.
Check out two sides of Lizz right here, right now: the precious “Till They Do” and the heavy “Mr. Fella.”
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MP3: Lizz King – Til’ They Do
Still have faith in the rock opera format, even after the Decemberists’ valiant but failed attempt at validating and reigniting interest in the genre earlier this year? Well, maybe Aran Keating, the AK from AK Slaughter, has the recipe for you in the form of Grundlehammer, a full-on and homegrown rock opera by the Baltimore Rock Opera Society.
Tonight’s show at the LOF/T in Load of Fun features AK Slaughter, Lizz King, Macgregor Burns, Wild Bonerz, and a host of others in a variety show benefit for the BROS production of Grundlehammer. Get in on it.
This review almost didn’t happen. I was hemming and hawwing over whether to shill out the 17 large for the day-of tickets, with my interest mainly being to see Lizz King and Jason Dove. Headliner Daniel Johnston was on my radar, but in the most peripheral way possible. I have not seen the Sundance-lauded film The Devil and Daniel Johnston so my knowledge of his life and music was very limited when making the decision to goto the Ottobar this past Sunday.
I probably made one of my wisest choices so far this year.
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