December 3, 2018 | 0 Comments

LIZA/LIZA – MOMENTARY GLANCE is at Top 200 Radio Now!!!

I’m so proud to get to bring to radio the exquisite Liza/Liza, via Orindal Records! (That’s the label run by my pal Owen Ashworth of Advance Base!) This is some really lovely, thoughtful, patient folk music, the kind that rewards careful listens and close attention—it’s full of beauty but also darkness, in a really rewarding way. As Stereogum says, Liza (that’s her first name, but it’s pronounced like “Lisa” – hence the band name) “has an uncanny knack for intense atmospherics”; they describe this album as “a collection of gently unfurling tracks centered around Victoria’s placid voice and an intoxicating static buzz”. It’s her sophomore release, but her first electric album with a full band, which was recorded by Godspeed! You Black Emperor’s Efrim Manuel Menuck (and featuring cover art by Kyle Field of Little Wings!). Technically only the first six tracks on the disc are this actual album; the final four tracks on the release sent to radio are from an older tape EP, a fun bonus for you!

LISA/LIZA

MOMENTARY GLANCE

Orindal Records

Lisa/Liza is the recording project of Liza (pronounced Lisa) Victoria, a singer, songwriter & guitarist from Portland, Maine’s D.I.Y. folk scene. Momentary Glance is her second album for Orindal Records, following 2016’s home-recorded solo acoustic collection, Deserts of Youth. Momentary Glance is Lisa/Liza’s first album of electric guitar recordings, half of which feature the recording debut of her live band (comprised of fellow Mainers Jonathan Downs, Devin Ivy & Pete Swegart). The album was recorded & mixed by Efrim Manuel Menuck (of Godspeed! You Black Emperor & Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra) at his hotel2tango studio in Montreal, with the exception of the song “Tea Kettle,” which was recorded & mixed by Colby Nathan at New Fruit Collective in Portland, Maine.

The six songs that make up Momentary Glance are expansive & trance-like, slowly unfurling over the course of forty-two minutes. The deep, natural reverb of hotel2tango & added atmospherics of Liza’s band mates create immersive environs for her patient guitar work & uniquely vulnerable vocals. Liza’s dreamlike lyrics often return to themes of winter, animals, nature as a source of reflection and the unwritten letter.

The CD edition of Momentary Glance includes four bonus tracks from a cassette EP called The Morning Light of When. Its cover art was painted by Kyle Field of the band Little Wings.

Liza recalls:

“Momentary Glance was recorded in the very coldest part of winter. We were told by friends in Montreal that even with the heat all the way up the wind still got through enough cracks in the walls ,that jackets were needed inside their homes. We would walk to the coffee shop with full face gear to keep the wind from freezing our faces. Jonathan wore ski-goggles, and we traded mismatched gloves around (“you can wear them for now, I’ll wear them later”). I remember being concerned for my vocal cords getting too cold and keeping a scarf wrapped around my neck & warm beverages near. The album was recorded in just three days, much to the thanks of Efrim, who persevered in the sound room, kept our spirits light despite the chill. I was fully grieving while I recorded this album. My friends and band mates stayed by my side, they took the trash out of the Airb&b, they let me wake up at all hours of the night to cry, or to feel despair, and never suggested once that it was too much, always believing that we could create, that I could create, despite my state. And that’s what made this record. I am still in disbelief that it is here.

“This album was made in the most difficult time of my life to date, if the album represents anything for me, it is finding strength in showing up for your fears, because many days that’s all we can do. During the fall of 2017, I experienced the loss of a friend due to suicide. I worked on this record in the hours that I had strength to be around people (all songs were previously written before this loss). When I first heard the final mixes, my first thought was that I wished this person could hear it, more than any other person. There is nothing I can say or make to express this heartbreak, but I knew I had to record this record then, just to keep myself playing music and moving forward, and I’m more than grateful for those who care to listen.”

RIYL: Mount Eerie, Nick Drake, Grouper, Cat Power, Jessica Pratt, Sam Amidon, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Devendra Banhart, Little Wings

Start With: 3, 4, 5 FCC: 1 (clean edit available via download)