O.K., I'll admit it....I was pretty hard on Lillix and their debut album, 2003's FALLING UPHILL. As a life-long connoisseur of all-female bands - 33+ years after their last release, Fanny is still one of my two all-time favorite bands, while the GoGo's, the Bangles and the Runaways are all in my Top 20 - I've been waiting a long time for an all-female group to come along and take up Fanny's mantle as the Queens of Rock & Roll. With FALLING UPHILL, Lillix didn't seem to be that band....they were too cute, too poppy, too......"Let's put a band together after school!" Granted, the album had enough interesting moments that I was curious to see what they would do next, but I wasn't holding my breath! Well, I'm happy to say that the band's sophmore effort, INSIDE THE HOLLOW, is a definite improvement, showing considerable growth (I'd actually give it 3.5 stars if I could!). True, there are still some holes.....for starters, all the vocals sound the same. When you have multi-lead vocalists, you need distinct voices, as was the case with Fanny and the Bangles....you could always tell the Millington sisters apart, both from each other and from Nickey Barclay, or the Peterson sisters from Susanna Hoffs or Michael Steele; only a diehard Lillix fan could distinguish the Evin sisters from each other or bassist Louise Burns. There's also the matter of nuance....the gals still haven't learned it's importance. 90% of the songs here have the same "crash/bam/thank you, Ma'am" chorus, devoid of any subtlety whatsoever. Finally, they're still using male session drummers, so it's not really an all-female band, at least not on record (Michael Urbano, who supplies the drumming on all but one track, is so over the top and lacking in finesse as a musician that he almost overpowers every single track). As for the individual songs, opening tracks "Blackout" and "Little Things" both have some nice moments, with "Blackout" full of snotty garage-band energy, and "Little Things" dripping in sexy, seductive poppiness. Tasha-Ray Evin's "Every Girl" is a universal tale of selling your soul for that first great love. Full of New Wave pogo power and thoughtful lyrics ("Faking a smile, in denial, the damage is done/Crying all night/Every girl's the same with number one/The first guy"), this is one of the tracks that shows the most growth between releases. The same can't be said about the disc's title track, the noisy "Sweet Temptation(Hollow)." There's a dated, hyper feeling to the cut that has your head spinning by song's end. Released as the first single in Canada, the song quickly tanked (a contributing factor, I'm sure, towards the decision not to release INSIDE THE HOLLOW in the States). DEFINITELY one of the album's low points! Much better is Lacey-Lee Evin's "Doughnut." Anchored by a pulsating bassline and a soaring lead vocal, the song totally gels like few others here. By the time we get to the semi-spoken bridge and the very funny "[...]", well, the track's won you over completely! An album high point! The same can be said about the haunting "Wishing Well." Between the intoxicating strings, Lacey-Lee Evin's sparkling keyboards and the Motown-flavored chorus, this track brilliantly spotlights the potential Lillix obviously has (Or is that had? More on that later!). The same could be said about about (most of) "Just Like You"....there's a sensuous groove to the song's verses that's absolutely invigorating. Unfortunately, the chorus is the group's typical "Wail at the top of our lungs" routine...a much more low-key, maybe a cappella, take, with just a little bass and percussion, would have been much more effective. "Got Off Easy" sounds like a bad cover of a bad 80's B-side, full of cheesy synths and silly lyrics ("Creeping around at night/Is it impossible/To be an honest lover?"), while "Turpentine" has a faceless quality to it......this could be anyone, from the Cowboy Junkies to Evanescence to The Like. "Tempo Change" has an easy-going vibe to it, until - you guessed it! - we hit the manic chorus! Things do end on an up note, though, with Burns and Tasha-Ray Evin tossing off some killer bass and guitar riffs! Sadly, things end on a down note, with the weak "Poor Little Girl" and "Stay." "Poor Little Girl" is cliche-ridden and simplistic, a stab at social commentary that just doesn't work (Pink did it much better on the brilliant "Stupid Girls"), while "Stay" is listless; it's going for airy and dreamy, but just comes across as vapid. So what does the future hold for Lillix? Good question....the fact that it's been decided not to release INSIDE THE HOLLOW in the United States is obviously strike one against the band. Losing new drummer Alicia Warrington - an awesome musician who would have added to the group's musical cred! - and bassist Burns has to be strike two. If the band is to continue, they need to work on their material (some strong covers might help!), and get a powerful, more distinct, vocalist into the fold. If that doesn't happen, well, I hear Antigone Rising is looking for a keyboard player...! (As with all my reviews, I'm giving the disc an extra half a star for including the lyrics!)
