'Look Into It' by Bill Lloyd

GUEST POST: Jordan Oakes (Yellow Pills Magazine)

Bill Lloyd continues to create sturdy, honest, and frequently stunning jangle pop with the heart of a craftsman and the soul of a disruptor.

That last word gains particular relevance on his new album, Look Into It, on which Bill bleeds for his art; and he’s as sanguine as ever, despite the occasional jolt of existential despair.

On Look Into It, we catch the songwriter at his most eclectic, and at the same time most personal.

Certain things never change: The slight twitchiness in his voice; the Nashville-Memphis pipeline in his adoration of Big Star and country rock; and a musical worldview that finds the middle-ground between a more scrutable Alex Chilton and a cheerier, less cryptic Tommy Keene.

On some tracks, Bill starts with a leisurely pulsating verse, like a kind of Kentuckian Neil Finn.

Elsewhere he shows his hand by jumping headfirst into rockaBILLy on the restless “Road Trip Betty,” which has a smidge of Dire Straits to scoot it along. On “The Number System” Bill veers straight into heady Scott Miller turf—he of the brainy guitar-popsters Game Theory—adding a fiery touch of the Gun Club to make it crackle.

He follows that with “In the Win,” its air-tight arpeggios and subtle Beatle-isms comforting the old fans. “Keep the Place Clean” has a thorny riff that twines snakily through its unkempt account of estrangement and self-destructive wanderlust.

The final two songs seem rather audacious for the sort of musician whose work has been dependably steeped in the traditions of ‘60s pop rock and country. “Don’t Watch Me (Watch Yourself)” is something akin to reggae; and “Game Show Hosts of the ‘70s” is a litany of those largely deceased, silken-voiced personalities who filled our weekdays with flashing lights, elusive grand prizes and deadly-dull contestant introductions.

It’s a fun diversion, all set to a tangy ‘70s lounge jam.

The phrase “look into it” may refer to a crystal ball, a telescope, a keyhole, a situation, an opportunity—or the mysterious mind of a visionary songwriter. For many Lloyd fans, his debut album, a trunkful of amazing pop songs, remains the proverbial elephant in the room of his oeuvre. But it’s this new one that’s his Tusk.

While Lloyd may never better “Lisa Anne,” a yearning Beatles-quality jangle-rocker from that 1987 solo debut, this is a great album. Bill continues to write interesting pop songs that hit the spot by missing the cliches.

On Look Into It, he knows how to scratch a niche. The world will never forget when Bill Lloyd went eclectic.

Jordan Oakes founded, published, and edited the Yellow Pills power pop magazine beginning in 1991, and compiled five Yellow Pills CD compilations beginning in 1993. His journalism has also appeared in Sound Choice, Speak, The Riverfront Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Rolling Stone’s ‘Alt-Rock-a-Rama’ book, and elsewhere. He’s a published poet and occasional standup comedian. He loves dogs and dog-eared magazines.

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