Lilith — 29 March 2023 on Rocket Shop Radio Hour

Lilith joined host Tom Proctor on ‘Rocket Shop,’ Big Heavy World’s weekly local Vermont music radio hour on 105.9 FM The Radiator. Catch up with them at instagram.com/cruella_de_lil

On Wednesday, March 29, host Tom Proctor was joined by Burlington singer-songwriter Lilith, for a night of reflective and rich acoustic tunes. 

Lilith has previously appeared on Rocket Shop as a member of the group Lavendula, a collaboration with fellow Vermont songwriters Johanna Rose and Henri June. They have since parted ways, on excellent terms but all living in different places and following other musical opportunities, including a Johanna Rose solo tour across the US, with appearances in New Orleans and New York City.. 

For Lilith, the transition to a solo act is, “Definitely a return. I started calling myself Lilith as a solo performer maybe six years ago. I had gone on a solo trip to Europe, and when I got back I was like, “No more of this silly, kind-of-a-musician stuff. I’m a musician.” So, this is me coming back to it, hopefully with a little more focus.” They said.

One of the songs featured in Wednesday’s set, “Memoriam,” came about from the combination of two songs into one, and is an engaging and dark narrative built on the contrast between the two resulting sections. It begins with a dreamy and ponderous opening, propelled by subtly driving rhythms that slowly build in energy, and then transitions midway-through to a galloping and stirring second half, featuring a soaring vocal performance inspired by the rock-operatic compositions often heard as anime theme songs. 

The lyrics tumble through a cycle of vivid images. “In the dark heart of methuselah / in the dark heart is arrhythmia / is disorder, disillusionment / is destruction, is a reading of / my diary, where I wrote the date / in the dark heart of the twenty-eighth / with no gun to shoot, with no sword to swing, with no song to sing / and no diamond ring.” 

Though abstract, these expressive lyrics are inspired by Lilith’s own perspective of the dynamic and complex world of emotions and interpersonal relationships. This is the case with much of their work, and has been for many years: Lilith has been writing songs tapping into the energies of love and heartbreak since a young age, with some songs dating back to when they were twelve years old. 

Many of these early songs are still a valued part of their repertoire, and in fact, “Some of my songs that I absolutely adore I wrote quite young. It's actually been a struggle, as I develop my songwriting skills, to remain true to that open-hearted love of beautiful chords and melodies, and really pursuing a feeling,” they said. “The more I have structure, the more I study poetry, the more I get ideas into my head about what could be, it feels very overwhelming. The songs that come out are much more labored over, for better or worse.” 

Coming up, Lilith will be releasing an album of original solo pieces like those played on Rocket Shop. There are no set dates yet, but they have an overwhelming abundance of music written and prepared for recording, and have begun experimenting successfully with self-producing and recording. Additionally, they plan to play local shows this summer, after they start to release their recorded work.

Text by Gideon Parker

Monochrome photo by Ross Mickel