Late last month, Lissie and her band crammed into a studio within the Music Conservatory of Westchester in White Plains, NY to perform a song and have a brief chat on A-Sides. If those walls could talk, they'd probably say, um, "more please?" Yes. Anyway, more on that later. Let's discuss Lissie first - in case you're not as familiar with her as you should be. The Illinois native has been teetering on stardom for over three years now since dropping her respectively-praised debut EP Why You Runnin' and LP Catching a Tiger. She's been a VH1 "You Oughta Know" artist, opened for Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty, and gained a lot of buzzy buzz with a covers EP (Covered Up With Flowers), which featured rousing raw versions of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance", Kid Cudi's "Pursuit Of Happiness," Joe South's "Games People Play," Nick Cave's "The Ship Song," and Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters." The videos for those tracks, by the way, lit up YouTube like a Katy Perry-boob sparkler with millions upon millions of hits.
Lissie's back with Back to Forever, and it's another demonstration of killer vocals and expert songwriting. Speaking of which, I know she gets compared to vintage Stevie Nicks often, but she really stands on her own with her own sound, style, and presence. Now, let's get back to A-Sides, where she and her band performed "Further Away (Romance Police)," which coincidentally comes off a lot like an wiser, older sister to the gypsy's "Edge of Seventeen." Watch. Listen. Love.
A-Sides "Delve Into Twelve" Countdown
Each week A-Sides unleashes its Top 12 tracks of the week AKA the "Delve Into Twelve"based on the following contributing factors: songs I'm playing out that particular week NO MATTER WHEN THEY WERE RELEASED (think overlooked songs, unreleased tracks, and old favorites), songs various publicists are trying to get me to listen to that I did and listened to and liked (phew), posts and trends I've noticed on my friends' Facebook walls, and - most importantly - the songs my 1 1/2+ year-old son gravitates toward. Yeah, you read that right. This weeks follows below (LW= last week's rank).
12. "Wings" (LW-6) - Haerts
11. "We Exist" - Arcade Fire
10. "You Don't Get Me Twice" (LW-8) - Sleigh Bells
9. "I'd Rather Be High" - David Bowie
8. "Tonight You're Perfect" - New Politics
7. "It's About Time" (LW-7) - Young the Giant
6. "Do What U Want" (LW-5) - Lady Gaga & R. Kelly
5. "24 Hours" - Sky Ferreira
4. "Holding On For Life" (LW-4) - Broken Bells
3. "The Christmas Song" (LW-1) - The Raveonettes
2. "Black Out Days" (LW-3) - Phantogram
1. "Reflektor"(LW-2) - Arcade Fire
About A-Sides Music
Jon Chattman's "A-Sides Music" series was established in August 2011 and usually features artists (established or not) from all genres performing a track, and discussing what it means to them. This informal series focuses on the artist making art in a low-threatening, extremely informal (sometimes humorous) way. No bells, no whistles -- just the music performed in a random, low-key setting followed by an unrehearsed chat. In an industry where everything often gets overblown and over manufactured, I'm hoping this is refreshing.