Brooklyn singer-songwriter Lily Talmers deals in an intriguing brand of raucous, organic neo-folk that pursues a path of creativity from the suburban flatlands of the Midwest to the concrete fantasy land of the Atlantic coast. It’s not so much story-telling as it is story-tracing. Her lyrics flit in and out of reality, grounded in the real experiences of an American life, but they’re just trippy enough to exist outside that corporeal realm. On her 2022 song “Hope, You Whore”, Talmers watches as a relationship falls apart in front of her, another failed coupling colored by the false sheen of youthful vigor. ‘You’re the torrent in this rainstorm,’ she pleas. ‘Left me soaked, but what is more-hope looks a fool now, she’s an ever-loving whore.‘ And this is the space in which Talmers exists- hope the center of the double-cross, the Charlie Brown to Lucy’s football- where each day brings a bit of wishful thinking only to be let down again by the time the sun sets over the horizon.
Her new single “The Big Idea” that we’re premiering today heralds in another brand new day. If anything shapes the American experience- particularly one that has gone from the suburbs of Detroit, where Talmers hails, to the performance halls of Maspeth, Queens, where the song was recorded- it’s our endless capacity to dream, no matter how many times those dreams are shattered. “The Big Idea” plants the seed of a newfound hope, one that hasn’t quite discovered the dimly lit corners of the red-light district, a hope that might find itself on the straight and narrow. But while this story arc is one that might be a common theme in Hollywood films, the way it pans out in real life is much less dramatic:
‘It’s fine by you, fine by me
Nothing’s ever really bad you see
And nothing’s really that good either
There is never any better place to be’
Musically, “The Big Idea” dabbles in simple, effective instrumentation that grapples back and forth with a kind of melancholic New Orleans Dixieland and traditional Appalachian Americana. Her vocals hint at Big Thief‘s Adrianne Lenker, and the harmonies she sings with fellow Brooklyn musicians Aidan Cafferty and John Cushing give the song a lilting, devil-may-care feel. It’s an appropriate palette for a song that paints ‘an optimism full of cracks’, as Talmers describes it, ‘its niceties charged with a deep distress, and its humor clearly reconciling with deep existential angst.‘ Recorded live to tape, there’s an organic warmth to the song and authenticity that make the lyrics resonate with that feeling of another dream slowly slipping through the fingers.
But hey, there’s always tomorrow. At least you can always hope.
Supporting Lily Talmers on her Bandcamp might encourage the artist to keep on dreaming, and you can follow her on Instagram and her website. Her upcoming album It Is Cyclical, Missing You will be out January 30!
