The Big Takeover  #52 Summer 2003 LYS GUILLORN "Lys Guillorn" (Little Cowgirl Records) If you are a no-name artist releasing your first LP, it helps to make a record where two members of Luna, thre ex-Feelies (Dean Wareham, Stanley Demeski, Brenda Sauter, Glenn Mercer) and Robert Quine (Voidoids/Lou Reed/Tom Waits), all play on it. And while you're at it, why not cover Johnny Thunders' "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory" for good measure? You wanted to get the attention of your humble reviewer; you got it! And Danbury, CT's Guillorn doesn't squander it. This is one of those quiet, twinkling little pop records (they call it "interior rock," and hey, that's not bad!) where nothing is in any particular hurry. Bright, fuzzy, light and airy, and even a little cheery, but not too much so, this is a record made by someone who no doubt appreciates Nico's solo LPs, and the very idea of Moe Tucker, as much as the rest of us. But she also knows how to translate that into her own pretty pop like the beguiling "Throne." The more country-inflected tunes don't work as well, even with their lyrics of "legendary cowboys," but with little organ moods and minor percussion always kept spare, and the vocals always coming warmly from that sparkling background, you feel like you're in the middle of a snowglobe. And the more strummy pop like "Impossible" is just plain strong. Very nice!

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