Issue date: 4/13/06

"Memento Mori (EP)" is the third independent CD by the Santa Rosa, Calif. band the Coma Lilies, and the follow up to their much-celebrated, self-titled full length.

The Coma Lilies unleashed a collection of instrumental works that while based in a rock context fully transcends it with complex song structures, intricate rhythms and soaring melodies. The level of musicianship and mature, thoughtful song writing on the album, makes it a wonder that the band members were only 18 years of age when it was recorded.

Two years later, "Memento Mori" picks up where "The Coma Lilies" left off, and the Coma Lilies have managed to evolve and expand upon their sound while holding onto their identity.

"Grab a Fork Micron (Circumcised)", a reworking of the opening track off the self-titled disc, provides an example of how the band is constantly developing its songs even after they are recorded. And this is a good thing, because it allows the music to stay fresh and vital.

The songs on "Memento Mori" are each based upon a musical theme, which is introduced early in the song and then is expanded upon, broken down, mangled up and put back together again.

The Coma Lilies have made good use of dynamics, and in some ways the music resembles film scoring. On the CD's opener "Memento Mori," moods fluctuate, oscillating between delicate lulls and moments of catharsis. Think of its structure like the graphic representation of waveform with varying amplitude.

The Coma Lilies are extremely comfortable with layering and atmospheric texturing, painting their canvases with a rich sonic palate of effects, laden guitars, acoustic stringed instruments, keyboards, electronically processed choral phrases and orchestral strings, electronic beats, instrument vocals and horns.

Unlike many bands that are purely instrumental, the Coma Lilies' music never suffers from the absence of lyrics. On the contrary, ordinary vocals would only muddle up the sound, always filled with ever-changing lyrical melodies woven together by the dual guitars of Michael Spector and Hunter Ellis and keyboards of Asher Katz.  These three seem to work together as one mind, each part complimenting the others perfectly, testifying to the level of thought, communication and craftsmanship that must go into the making of these songs.

The rhythm section, comprised of bassist Brian Kincaid and drummer Gabe Katz, simultaneously provides the foundation for the songs as well as calculated abstract phrasings of their own, dictating the pace and mood of each movement.

The second track on the album, "Penis Envy," carries a sense of estrangement and pent up aggression to warrant its Freudian title. The artistry with which it is constructed and performed is a thing of beauty.

The continuously flowing ebb of musical ideas and sonic texturing gives me reason to assert that the Coma Lilies have taken the excitingly inspired and anarchic nature of free jazz and given it direction and form, while adding to it another level to stimulate the listener emotionally as well as intellectually.

These first two tracks are the focal point of the album, as Spector explained to me in an e-mail. "Memento Mori" is comprised of three parts, the first being the direction that the band is moving in.

A short track, of which the title is a semi-colon, separates the first two songs from "songs that we like, and play live, but wouldn't generally put on a Coma Lilies' 'album' (with the exception of grab a fork micron)," said Spector.

These songs are then separated by a series of short, empty tracks from "secret songs," which are the band goofing off and having some fun in the studio. This is a schizophrenic mix of electronic music, jazz, thrash metal/grindcore, mandolin plucking and bantering by the band which is almost as fun to listen to as they must have had making it.

It is refreshing that a band that is this serious about its music does not take itself too seriously and can have fun and keep it light during what can be a very trying process recording an album.

The Coma Lilies is a band that is going places. Not MTV, but better places: musical places the likes of which we can only dream. What's more, they will be playing in Keene on Saturday, April 15, as part of the New England leg of their first national tour. Keep your eyes peeled for flyers.

Stephen LoVerme is a senior majoring in film.