"People are so used to the stereotype of girls being manufactured," says bassist-vocalist Louise Burns, one-third of the vocal firepower behind Canadian female foursome Lillix. "The public is now starting to become more aware that girls do musical things like play guitars and write songs. Girls do rock."
Spoken like true rock veterans, there's no doubt that the girls of Lillix are set to put their music where their mouths are. With a lead vocal triple threat made up of guitarist Tasha-Ray Evin (17), older sister and keyboardist Lacey-Lee Evin (19), and bassist Louise Burns (17), as well as an accomplished drummer in recent addition Kim Urhahn (23), the band has a well-cultivated musical vision.
In the Evin household, located in the heavily wooded rural town of Cranbrook, British Columbia (surrounded by the Purcell Mountains to the West and the Canadian Rockies to the North,) music has been calling since the girls were old enough support the weight of a guitar. Six years since picking up instruments for the first time, Lillix is set to strike North American audiences with their rambunctious, pop-infused rock and roll on Falling Uphill, the band's Maverick Records debut.
Falling Uphill is the culmination of years of successfully fighting boredom in Cranbrook, a town of 18,000 inhabitants. "There is nothing to do in Cranbrook," says Burns. "That is the reason we started the band. It’s a huge hockey town, not a big music town. A typical Friday night involves going to bush parties where everyone hangs around a bonfire drinking beer."
But the girls refused to be limited by the surroundings. Without a nearby hipster culture to influence their choices, they had increased freedom to craft a style all their own. Armed with influences running the gamut from Queen to Weezer and the Beatles to Radiohead, Lillix set up shop in the Evins' basement while still in the 7th grade, and started belting out rock-edged pop tunes written and played by their own hands and own instruments. "When we started out, we were 11-year-old girls," says Burns. "The music was pop but we played our instruments so it wasn't bubblegum stuff. Now we have matured and taken influences from different bands and different genres and put them into one. You can't really define our sound. It's so eclectic."
Lillix hooked up with an impressive list of producers to shape the sound of Falling Uphill, including the Matrix (Avril Lavigne), Philip Steir (No Doubt), former 4-Non Blonde Linda Perry (Pink, Christina Aguilera), John Shanks (The Corrs, Michelle Branch) and the omnipotent Glen Ballard on "24/7. "Glen was so awesome," says Burns. "He has this presence around him that just makes you feel safe and warm."
Additionally, with both Lacey-Lee and Tasha-Ray as well as Burns trading off lead vocalist and songwriting duties throughout the record, Uphill weaves several contrasting vocal textures into a coherent pop-rock tapestry that quickly leaves an indelible mark on the eardrums.
First single "It's About Time" shows off the quartet's long-simmering talents, with soaring harmonies and an infectious chorus, while songs like "Tomorrow" and "Quicksand" showcase Lillix's spunkier, anthemic rock side. Toss in a cover of the Romantics' classic "What I Like About You," which served as the theme to the WB comedy of the same name, and Falling Uphill serves as a rowdy antidote to the teenage pop doldrums -- a potent sonic cocktail that is anything but paint-by-numbers.
"Our music comes from the heart," adds guitarist-vocalist Tasha-Ray Evin. "Everything that we write, we believe in. That's what propels this band."
Source: http://www.lillix.com
