Lizette& - Myspace tracks review w/videos

Every now and then we get one of those submissions or link requests that, when I check it out, I know it's gonna be something excellent. If I'm looking at some artist's Myspace page, I tend to click "stop" on the music player so I can read a bit about 'em first, then see what the music's like afterward. So, as before, I did this with Lizette &. The list of influences had my attention right away - citing a mix which at first might sound unusual to some but it reflects my own notoriously eccentric taste in music - "NIN, Tori Amos, Tool and everything else that is good". This doggie is a long-time fan of both NIN and Amos. According to the profile, the music sounds like "NIN, Tori Amos, Tool, Marilyn Manson, Alannis Morisette, Nightwish, HIM, A perfect Circle, Within Temptation, Dead Can Dance, Linkin Park, Evanescence, Kate Bush, Björk...". Oh no, no it doesn't, not how you'd imagine the term "influences" anyway. What it sounds like is damn original industrial-tinted heavy techno-fringed rock that grabs you from a nanosecond after you hit play. If you can picture, in your ears (Edbot: Picture in yer ears? Stupid Dogbot, what have you been smoking?!), Tori Amos doing vocals with Tool and/or NIN as backing musicians, in the style of Alanis Morisette/Meredith Brooks but without the Morisette's ridiculous lyrics), and heavier, then that's a pretty good approximation of Lizette&.

Sweden's becoming known lately for good acts in the world of rock and metal, with perhaps the biggest name being Nightwish's new singer Anette Olzon, and to that we can add Stockholm's own Lizette &. Heavy but not eardrum-destroying, catchy but not pop, and all propelled by the groove machine that is Lizette. We're not sure what the "&" stands for, but we reckon it's a reference to the backing band. There's no doubt that the centrepiece of Lizette& is Lizette herself. A quick scout around reveals that on recordings she's responsible for the production and recording in her own studio in Stockholm, so she's clued up on the more complex aspects, not just a singer. She's got skills and my god can she provide with them.

The album "This Is" looks to be a winner, and is available now through iTunes and as a hard copy through CDBaby and other outlets (links below). We'll be reviewing that at a later date when we've got our own copy here at NMHQ. So, for now, the Myspace tracks - five of 'em at the time of writing this. First track, and title-track to the album, "This Is (Radio Edit)", has a catchy chorus with quite a few "na na na na na's" thrown in but don't worry, this ain't Roxette (infamously naff Swedish "rock" duo from the early 90's), the lyrics are well-structured, and there's a pulsing industrial-strength beat behind them. No trace of an accent in Lizette's voice, if we hadn't told you she was Swedish you'd probably never have known. The song's quite possibly about her ambition, as one line says "I didn't lie, I didn't cheat, I stood on my own two feet", perfectly summing up her quest to make "one woman's dream come true" as her Myspace says. Credit is given in her bio to Reznor who - indirectly, as a result of hearing the NIN album "The Downward Spiral" - inspired her to make a move from a studio that mainly produced pop to producing some of the most original and refreshing industrial-techno rock that we've heard in a long time. Check out the video for "This Is" below:

LIZETTE & - "THIS IS"

"Breathe" is a slowed down yet far-from-balladic affair with an almost haunting but sci-fi edge in the musicianship, beautifully-structured lyrics and a dose of venom perhaps directed at those who might have said she couldn't do this. It's self-appreciating without being smug, without being "look at me!", and fuck me is it addictive. When we get the album, this will likely be the chosen track in the Dogmobile's new MP3-capable sound system. "And I breathe... that's what makes me a winner" says the chorus. It's a winner alright. Third song "Did I" takes the tempo a notch down (at least til the chorus), but still keeping that electronic beat, reminds me a bit of Curve, or maybe a slightly-amped up Goldfrapp, a bouncin' groove that while it won't fill a dancefloor in a rockclub (unlike Breathe and This Is, however, which most certainly would!) is more than worth a boogie, perhaps while you chat up someone that you noticed while one of the heavier tracks played. This'll certainly get played at any future NM-sponsored DJ nights. Check it out for yerself:

LIZETTE & - "BREATHE"

Fourth song "No One" is perhaps where the Morisette influence shows through a bit, but only in style, not in lyrics which thankfully don't share the pretentiousness of Morisette's. Maybe even a shade of Madonna in there with the vocals, quite surprisingly. Fused to a layered smooth techno-rock tune which in parts just screams Prodigy, it's probably as close you'll find to Curve in lieu of new product by the latter. Fifth track "Crush U" could almost be a Marilyn Manson track, in fact if I didn't know it was Lizette& 'cos I'm listening to it while writing this, I'd say perhaps it might be Genitorturers. A crushing industrial beat that Rammstein, NIN and Tool would be proud of kicks it off, with growlin' agressive vocals that when you least expect it spiral off into a sweet butter-wouldn't-melt melody before returning to the growl to crush you with their power. Final song "This Is Dark Green" is a more pure industrial style, a repeating beat with an almost mystic and Eastern note that will remind many of the opening to legendary Sisters of Mercy song "Dominion" (if you've seen the video, you'll know what I mean). It's not until almost a minute in that it becomes apparent "This Is Dark Green" is actually an alternate version of opener and album title-track "This Is", slower and stripped-down and very different to the "radio edit" version, somehow quite menacing especially with the haunting chanting at this version's end, but indisputably addictive. On the strength of these six tracks, I can only say "buy this album! Be it on iTunes or a hard copy, it would be an injustice to your ears not to!". A contender for NMCom Artist of The Year. A Google search for Lizette& will throw up various allusions to her being "goth" but we're loath to use that term here at NMHQ. Her music isn't "goth" in the same way that The Sisters of Mercy aren't "goth" - this is alternative, industrial melody-laden damn good heavy rock.

One thing I haven't mentioned, because it's not relevant to the quality of the music, is the fact that Lizette is rather damn gorgeous, as you can see in the pics accompanying this article. The point is though that it wouldn't matter if Lizette looked like a walrus, the music speaks for itself here and I'd still give it the same review and same rating. The fact she IS a very attractive gal does of course make watching the videos that much easier ;). She's got that Scandinavian beauty, something that you just don't see in girls with other ancestry, and (Edbot: "Behave, Bulldog! Or we'll take you to the vet's... you know what happens to bad doggies who get over-excited... *snip snip*). Eep... Nuff said. This is angry but gorgeous music. Go listen, and if you like what you hear as much as we did, go buy!

You can nab the album "This Is" by Lizette& at the following links:
iTunes (global): apple.com/search/ipoditunes/?q=Lizette%26
CDBaby (USA): cdbaby.com/cd/lizetteand
Play (UK): www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/3321362/This-Is/Product.html

NoiseMatters rated: (5/5)