In the Presence of Nothing

In the Presence of Nothing is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Lilys, co-released in 1992 by Slumberland Records and SpinART. The album was written and recorded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.^[3]

In the Presence of Nothing
Studio album by Lilys
Released	September 1992
Genre	Shoegazing
Length	54:10
Label	Slumberland SpinART
Producer	Jay Sorrentino Ken Heitmueller
Lilys chronology
In the Presence of Nothing (1992) A Brief History of Amazing Letdowns (1994)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Select	3/5[2]

The album's title is a dig at Velvet Crush, who released In the Presence of Greatness the previous year.^[4] The album features Lilys frontman Kurt Heasley backed by members of Velocity Girl, the Ropers and Suddenly, Tammy!, and the band's early My Bloody Valentine influence is strongly in evidence, with Jason Ankeny of AllMusic even going as far as calling the album "the quick follow-up to Loveless that My Bloody Valentine never made",^[1] and Douglas Wolk of Trouser Press calling it "even more a product of hero-worship".^[4] Ankeny also called the album "a wonderful testament to shoegazing's brief but seminal moment in the sun."^[1]

Track listing

All songs written by Lilys.

1. "There's No Such Thing as Black Orchids" – 5:14
2. "Elizabeth Colour Wheel" – 6:58
3. "Collider" – 4:20
4. "Tone Bender" – 3:16
5. "Periscope" – 5:14
6. "It Does Nothing for Me" – 4:08
7. "Snowblinder" – 4:34
8. "The Way Snowflakes Fall" – 12:09
9. "Threw a Day" – 3:44
10. "Claire Hates Me" – 4:33

Personnel

• Kurt Heasley – guitar, vocals
• Archie Moore – guitar
• Harold "Bear" Evans – drums
• Mike Hammel – drums
• Ken Heitmueller – backing vocals
• Beth Sorrentino – backing vocals
• Jay Sorrentino – backing vocals

^[5]

References

1. Ankeny, Jason. "In the Presence of Nothing – Lilys". AllMusic. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
2. Perry, Andrew (March 1993). "Lilys: In the Presence of Nothing". Select (33): 70.
3. Rapa, Patrick (February 16–22, 2006). "Tall Tale Storyline". My City Paper. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
4. Wolk, Douglas. "Lilys". Trouser Press. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
5. Orgera, Alexandra; Saul, James; Howard, Brian, & Rapa, Patrick (2006) "The Lilys Family Tree Archived 2015-10-01 at the Wayback Machine", Philadelphia City Paper, February 16–22, 2006, retrieved 23 December 2009