ilyAIMY – A Gift for Saint Cecilia
by Bambi Weavil
Very few indy bands can transcend musical landscapes like ilyAIMY (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter) can. ilyAIMY from the Baltimore, Maryland area, whose house of sound is a nice blend of country, metal, acoustic rock, neo-folk, with flickers of bluegrass and sometimes strokes of R&B with masterful, poetic lyrics – have released DIY albums for years and this latest release is the best yet. ilyAIMY (short for I Love You and I Miss You) are fronted by Rob Hinkal and Heather Lloyd with additional members Sharif Kellogg on piano, and Rowan Corbett bringing the percussion. The latest album, A Gift For Saint Cecilia brings a couple of new shades to the band’s acoustic palette – Kristen Jones (Pan Masters, 50 Man Machine) guests on cello for two tracks and Rowan branches out from Irish bones and African djembe to add a bodhran track to “Protest Song.” There are certain bands that bring out the better writer and poet in me just by listening to their music, and ilyAIMY is one of them.
Starting off with the folk-haunting with sense of urgency sound, “Slight Departure,” the story of the struggle of leaving a relationship with a “departure with a promise” sung with vulnerability and urgency with an experienced swagger. What is not appreciated enough is how good their songwriting and storytelling truly is embedded in their music. Their vocal and songwriting talent is all over this album, in every way, showing their years of experience, yet still raw and fresh as ever. This album captures the layers of ilyAIMY but they are a band meant to be experienced live to truly get how damn good they really are.
“Protest Song” is a great take on people who protest for the hell of it with no real cause or purpose (“I heard from a friend of a friend who read it on your journal / And you’re angry when it’s read / And you’re angry when it’s not / You’re just fighting in this war / But you’re angry that it’s fought / my friend“). With “Oklahoma Revival,” neo-folk/country sound evident here, but the real magic happens in one of my favorite songs ever, “Draw You In.” Maybe it’s because I’ve always enjoyed the company of my fellow artistic folk, or the fact I’m happy “left-handed scissors” is one of the lyrical phrases – but a flirty artsy song about making art makes me a happy girl.
“Trouble” is genuinely new to long-time ilyAIMY supporters, this one will keep you stirring in thought for a long time and somehow describes my trouble with certain past relationships perfectly (“cause you are beautiful when angry, I think you are…but I drive you crazy” and “we’re shoving static at each other and you know we’re mutilating facts / you know the weather looks so good when you pass”).
“I Am The Wreckingball” and “No Blue Left” really power Heather’s soulful voice and really shows off her songwriting, poetic excellence. “Ask For Me” could easily be a country ballad hit. She can rap, strum and pound a djembe like no one I have ever seen, and rip through the emotions that comprise the undertone of all of ilyAIMY’s music..and damn that girl can sing her heart out.
“Hands” has also been one of my long-time personal favorites and is the song that captures the band’s live sound, and infectious energy, the best. “Loosen” is also another popular song live and if there is such thing as getting a musical orgasm, you can experience it during this song. The depth of ilyAIMY’s growth is reflected in “Baliset” which came from a songwriting challenge at an open mic session, in the soulful, blues meets folk “Love a Girl Gone” and the final song of A Gift for Saint Cecilia. Saint Cecilia would be so proud, this ladies and gentlemen, is a must for your music collection.
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