Nicky From Nothing Says Lilys’ ‘In the Presence’ Is a Goddamn Classic

The word "classic" gets thrown around so much lately. In the world of music, it's used in hushed tones and reserved for records like Pet Sounds, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath or Forever Changes. We say that is bullshit. While there should be a reverence for those albums, it’s equally as important to recognize the greatness that happens around us every single day. That’s why we're proposing the canonization of new records with our new series Goddamn Classic, which goes out and nominates records that may be off the beaten path, but deserve another look from the world. We've asked writers, artists and other notables to stand up and be counted, to defend the records that they feel haven't gotten their due. Today's record comes from Nicky Palermo of Nothing: the Lilys' In the Presence of Nothing.

A huge thing that I tried to rip off constantly — and I found solace that not that many people talked about it — was the Lilys' In the Presence of Nothing. We pseudo-came up with the band name from it as well, but that record ... you really don't hear that record come up when discussing American shoegaze. Swirlies get brought up a lot more.

One of the best compliments that we ever got was from Damon [Tutunjian] from the Swirlies, who told me he thought Nothing sounded like My Bloody Valentine and Misfits. To me, that's what the Lilys sound like on that record. That record was the basis of what I wanted to do from Guilty of Everything on.