Known for their manic and cacophonous live shows, Los Angeles outfit Liily released early singles packaged together into an EP entitled I Can Fool Anybody In This Town, which led to them performing at Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, touring across Europe and the United States. But then, as quickly as they appeared, they seemed to vanish.
Now, Liily, comprised of musicians Dylan Nash, Sam De La Torre, Charlie Anastasis, and Maxx Morando, makes a smashing return with the blisteringly aggressive I Am Who I Think You Think I Am. The song takes a big bite out of the artificiality of influencer culture, social media, and the entertainment industry.
“I Am Who I Think You Think I Am is my personification of the egregious nature of a hyper-accelerated culture and whatever is thrown into that machine no matter what the intention behind it is, it will only come out destructive,” reflects Dylan Nash.
Produced by Joe Chicarelli and mixed by Alan Moulder, the song is strange and abrasive but with considerable emotional girth. The track contains the unbridled energy of Liily’s early shows and singles, but feels stripped of anything passive or unintentional.
“I think thematically it’s very different,” says Nash. “I think the intensity of it is very different. I think we had the same intention though which is to completely obliterate people’s eardrums – that’s what it still has in common.”
The video, directed by Sam De La Torre, is a disturbing, sobering account of the inner sickness dwelling within a young woman as she fights her demons and physical destruction. A metaphor for the opioid crisis, collective depression, the predatory nature of consumer culture and the masks we wear, rotting away at our souls.
Post-Punk.com spoke with the band’s Dylan Nash about the single.
Can you elaborate on how this hyper-accelerated culture we live in inspired “I Am Who I Think You Think I Am”?
Hyper acceleration is sort of shoved in our faces everyday so it was an easy subject to observe and write about. Ultimately I was trying to show the volatility of the culture and the personalities that follow while manifesting itself into somewhat of a Lovecraftian monster as that’s sort of the easiest and most comfortable way for me to express most topics.
How did Joe Chicarelli impact the final sound of the album as the producer? What was it like working with him?
Joe impacted a lot when it came to the sound and structure of the record! Essentially he helped preserve all the same elements and energy that the songs had prior to us working with him, while still pushing us to understand why those parts needed to exist and by adding other layers, giving them a stronger foundation to lay comfortably within the song. It was great getting the chance to work with him, he understood the issues we faced being a relatively new band that was writing its first full length record and taught us that it’s ok to relinquish some control of the abstracts. He took a bunch of songs that sounded like they all should of been on other albums and made one cohesive record. Ultimately it just seemed like he felt as passionate about making the record as we were, therefore pushing us to new heights and making us feel really proud of something we made.
What do you want listeners to take away from this track?
I want people to take away whatever they want from this song as like most of the record it’s up for interpretation. But I still think it’s important to understand the message and be aware of the impact that hyper-accelerated culture has on the social sphere and sort of shy away from its extreme rhetoric as it’s very harmful and doesn’t really contain any substance. Also to understand that as much confidence as I had writing the lyrics, there is still a naivety that comes with writing about a subject like this because no matter how much we think we can understand something, the fears start to set it when you realize how deep the complexity of everything gets, which ultimately is why I mask it with campy horror elements so the seriousness doesn’t take away from the joy of writing a song.
Listen to the track on your preferred streaming service.
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Tour dates:
10-21 Mercury Lounge, NYC
10-29 Troubadour, West Hollywood
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