Vakili Band: “Tannersville” (2024) CD Review

Lily Vakili of Vakili Band is currently on a solo tour, supporting John Douglas of Trashcan Sinatras. And she has a new EP out, titled Tannersville, named after a small town in New York. Though under the Vakili Band name, this EP is actually a solo release, on which Lily Vakili is joined by Reed Turchi, who mixed and co-produced it. It features all original material in a great stripped down setting.

The EP opens with “Photograph,” which was also put out as a single leading up to the disc’s release. It has a very cool vibe, with just guitars and vocals, so a more intimate feel. “I saw you smiling in a photograph/I guess I thought the happy would last.” Lily plays electric guitar, and Reed Turchi is on slide and acoustic guitar. This track also features some whistling. There is a haunted feel to this song. Just listen to the way she sings, “Sunny days never end/California” and then adds a “la la la” line that is not as cheerful as that sort of thing normally is. This is a captivating song. “I guess it didn’t last, it didn’t last.” There is an even more intimate delivery at the beginning of “Rocket,” as she sings “Where were you going to that late afternoon/When I dropped you at the station/With ten bucks and your high-top shoes/Did you make it across the Rockies or to your cousin’s place upstate?” And as she asks, “Tell me, did you make it to the moon,” we feel that no, that person did not make it anywhere. But she repeats the question as if she wants the answer to be yes, and we begin to think that maybe it is possible after all. It is a riveting performance. And here she begins to raise her voice, giving us a taste of what she’s capable of, and what she delivers on the full band albums. “Your mind was always on the road/Always looking for that one last thing/That would make it all make sense to you/Yeah, your own personal missing link.” Do any of us find what we’re seeking? I wonder.

In “April Fools,” she sings, “Dear, can it be/That one more year has come and gone/And we’re still here, still hanging on.” Her use of the phrase “So it goes” is perfect, reminding us of Kurt Vonnegut. “We’re April fools, we’re April fools/Joke’s on us, we don’t care/Because being in love is all that matters in the end.” She delivers that last line as a whisper. Wow, this song gets its hooks in us so easily, and so deeply. These lines also stand out: “I suppose it’s true that in this world/We’re meant to lose every precious thing/And so we do, and so we do.” So it goes, right? And when she sings, “So let’s be fools,” there is something undeniably seductive and alluring in her delivery. This is an incredible song, my personal favorite from this disc. The EP then concludes with its title track, “Tannersville.” Again, there is a haunted vibe to her delivery. “World keeps spinning/Don’t be afraid.” And check out these lines: “It’s not so bad giving up/Taking a job, sucking up.” Are those lines comforting or depressing? This song has a quiet power. Toward the end she repeats, “We’ll stay the same.”

CD Track List

1. Photograph
2. Rocket
3. April Fools
4. Tannersville

Tannersville was released on September 13, 2024.