Album Notes

This self-titled CD introduces songwriter Lys Guillorn. In addition to singing and playing rhythm guitar, Guillorn sings vocal harmonies, plays lead and slide guitar, Hammond and Magnus Chord organs, bells, fuzz bass and melodica.

For this record, she worked on subtle arrangements with the assistance of producer/engineer Jeff Feuerzeig, best known as the director of the film Half Japanese: The Band That Would Be King and producer of tracks by Kickstand, Codeine, The Mad Scene, Kicking Giant, and Flying Saucer.

Feuerzeig brought in a few guests who helped with the project including Stanley Demeski (Luna/Feelies), Robert Quine (Lou Reed/Richard Hell and the Voidoids/Tom Waits), Brenda Sauter (Feelies), Dean Wareham (Luna/Galaxie 500) and Glenn Mercer (Feelies/Wake Ooloo).

The result is a moody, interior rock record with a little twang. Among the CDs 10 original tracks are carnival ditties ("Steel Pier") and cowboy songs ("Legendary Cowboys") living side-by-side with dark tunes in ¾ time ("Little Wren"-like the Velvet Underground sung by the McGarrigle Sisters), hymns to desperate love ("Throne"-with a toy box arrangement), and unsettling lullabies ("In Sleep").

The voice of Lightnin' Hopkins weaves through "Counterproductive" (a harbinger of the record-ending fragment "Old Serpent Blues"), while "Weightless" is Big Star-floaty. Guillorn writes for the ghost of Nick Drake, the specter of Johnny Thunders (there's a cover of "You Can't Put Your Arms Round a Memory") and the phantom of Sterling Morrison.

Guillorn currently lives in western Connecticut.