Lilofee’s music is exactly like the dark German fairy tale it is named after, full of angst and love, dripping with affliction and laced with enchantment. Add to that a serious dance beat, a sprinkle of glitter and some remarkably catchy lyrics and you have a really formidable band. Lilofee is made up of Kimi Recor on vocals, Rob Easson on lead guitar, Dan Aquino on drums and Cyrus Etemad on bass. San Francisco locals, Kimi and Rob met back in 2007 through a mutual friend and ended up going straight to a recording studio where they spent the next 15 hours making the music that would eventually inspire the formation of Lilofee. They describe their musical inspiration as a mix of 80s dark pop, 60s girl bands, and 90s industrial. Accurate, but Lilofee is greater than throwbacks to past decades. It is the combination of these genres mixed with the vocals of a truly unique siren.
Kimi’s style is fantastically dramatic, with awesomely long eyelashes, seductive outfits and plenty of glitz and twinkle. Her voice is unwavering in strength and her electric live performances could rock the power gloves off of anyone. The guys in the band hold their own by delivering danceable song after sing-able song, all the while keeping their cool behind their scintillating chanteuse.
Lilofee is unique in that their album sounds very different from their live performance. Whereas the album is very electro pop, the live performances are much more power rock. And while one might think this could turn off fans expecting to hear one thing but getting another, Lilofee doesn’t disappoint. According to Cyrus, they are enjoying the duality of their sound for now, knowing it could all change the moment they choose a record label. Playing at SXSW in Austin next month will undoubtedly bring loads of potential labels to their doorstep.
Download “Lock and Key” and “Destroy Me” for a good idea of their overall sound and devilish ability to get lyrics stuck in your head. “Hey mister, hey mister, I kissed your kid sister. Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do?” simply can’t be ignored. Overall, Lilofee crushes on, huffing and puffing and blowing the house down.
