Lily Meola’s voice is bigger than Matt Meola’s surfing.
A few months ago, I walked into our office to find a little package on my desk. It was an album by Lily Meola, sister of Maui hippie/cowboy/Jaws connoisseur/bow hunter, Matt. Admittedly, I wasn’t all that interested, initially. I was way off base, as usual.
I love country music, but not that bullshit new country music. Give me Willie and Johnny and Waylon over Keith Urban and his ilk, any day. When I was a kid, my mum would play Conway Twitty and Patsy Cline on our road trips. For some reason, I assumed that Lily would sing radio-friendly countryesque songs in the vein of Taylor Swift et al. She’s got the looks for it, that’s for sure, which is probably why I assumed it. I’m stupid sometimes.
I live in a tiny house above my aunt’s place in the hills. It’s very quiet: coyotes howl at night, and a family of raccoons comes by a few times a week to scarf cat food out of a bowl on my lap, knock my hummingbird feeders out of the trees, and throw my garbage all over the place. My aunt is a bit of a shut-in (and I love her for it). She spends most of her days being much smarter than the rest of the world, studying things that interest her for no apparent reason other than the pursuit of knowledge, and listening to the same three albums at what must be, in her house, an ear-splittingly loud volume. I know because I hear them all day long. Anyway, after listening to Lily Meola’s debut album in my truck on the way home, I decided that she would probably like it more than I–she’s into country music with female vocalists–and dropped it on her doorstep. Now, a month later, I’m sitting on my porch while Lily sings in my aunt’s house, over and over and over, all day long, every day of the week. Lily’s album has replaced those other albums entirely. My aunt loves it, and now, so do I. Seriously. All day, every day. Lily’s voice has become background noise, along with the birds and the wind in the trees.
Lily Meola has a fucking beautiful voice. Like, beautiful. And this is coming from a person who doesn’t ever consider things like beautiful voices. She’s got duets with both Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson, which is insane, considering the fact that she’s something like 20-years-old. Her brand of country singing is reminiscent of the good old days of country music–full of twang and sadness and just a hint of something that will get her on the radio and out to the masses who want to hear real music, with instruments and classic artists and great lyrics. Hell, Rolling Stone put her on the list of their Top 10 New Country Artists You Need to Know, and they called her Willie Nelson’s protege. According to RS, she sounds like “Bobbie Gentry and Joni Mitchell went on a vacation to Hawaii together.” Them are some big boots to fill.
Although it might not be exactly my style of music, I know it’s amazing. The girl from Maui has enough talent in her to make her a powerhouse. If Lily doesn’t make it big, there’s something wrong with the world.
Find Lily’s new album, They Say… on her website, Lilymeola.com. Follow her on Instagram and like her on Facebook. And no, this isn’t a paid advertisement.
