Tilly Louise
Join the Club
Tilly Louise is a singer-songwriter from Liverpool who’s been releasing tracks since 2020. I think she might also be playing in a band called Maybank, or they are backing her up - I can’t quite tell. What I do know after looking through her socials and poking around with Uncle Google is that she’s a hell of a frontwoman, singer, bass player and guitarist. The latest track, “Join the Club,” drops today - March 22nd - here’s our review:
Cool live band start with a count in and beautiful guitar riff. Very unique tone, and I love the use of the 6 in the riff - definitely makes it sound huge. Kick and snare come in and I don’t know what the hell they used to track it, but it is clean and in your face. They immediately jump into the first verse with a great major seven voicing off the four chord, and when they pull the bass up with that flat 5, you know you’ve got a great thinking band on your hands. We’re less than 15 seconds in and I’m hooked. Love how the whole structure of the first verse defies what you typically hear on the radio, and it works perfectly. We’re in G, and it’s a perfect key for her voice, and her phrasing and melodic choices are very very strong. Two other things I love about this first verse are the gorgeous bass line and great keyboard/organ tone.
First chorus comes off a massive build up that takes the listener over a beautiful chord progression and furious beats. Bass line absolutely takes off in runs and stays perfectly in the pocket. Guitar riffs on top are a perfect match, and that tone is killing me. Again, the mix is absolutely perfect. Nothing crunchy, great eq, you can hear everything clearly and her vocals are on point. I feel that the true hook of the chorus is the energy of the music, not so much the melody or the lyrics, despite how compelling they are.
Second verse picks up the intensity to keep it rolling, but they keep it close to the vest and don’t stretch it out too long so that we can get back to that great chorus. Compare this verse to the first and you’ll hear the subtle add-ons that make a big difference in terms of building a song and mix - great production here, for sure. The build-up riffs come back in to take us into the second chorus which adds just the right touch of additional keyboards to amp it up a little bit more.
Clever bridge section as they utilize the phrase “cool it down” to bring the band down in energy. Now that you’ve heard her voice for the better part of 2 minutes, take note of all the different styles that Tilly is dropping on you, and how well she does it. She’s got a great feel for BG’s, knows how to sing them separately from the lead track, and displays an exceptional amount of confidence in how softly she presents this bridge and parts of the verses, in comparison to the all out assault and playfulness of the choruses. She’s got a voice that separates her from most of the female singers that come across my speakers.
Last chorus takes us right back to the party and those guitar runs are fully infecting my brain at this point. This song is a great blend of modern pop and rock, with classic keyboard tones, some very unique guitar tones and exceptional playing all around - kudo’s to everyone who tracked, produced and mastered it - it’s great. Definitely going on my favorites for ‘23.
Make sure you scroll down to check out her socials and other tracks. “Baggy T-shirt” is a great pop gem! Sounds like Echosmith and Paramore got together to write a banger. “Calypso” is similar to “Join the Club” in terms of clever guitar riffs and bass lines, but has more of an electronic feel in terms of its drums and production. The choruses are beautiful - there’s a great calypso vibe. “Be Like You” is a great window into where he writing starts, and it’s cool to hear her vocals here in comparison to today’s track. Love hearing the common threads from artits’s earlier works. Absolutely love the back end of the chorus in this track.
Really great work Tilly! I fully expect you to be absolutely blowing up in no time - these songs are too good to not get noticed, keep up the great work!