Lyres
Lyres Lyres

THE REVIEW

The garage-punk scene of the '80s was undoubtedly a time of great ferment and creativity: a return to the roots of rock in an era dominated by the cold sounds of new wave. There were numerous remarkable bands: among the most important, I recall the Chesterfield Kings, the Fuzztones, and Plan 9 from New York. In San Diego, there were the Tell Tale Hearts and Leighton's Gravedigger V, who later became the Morlocks. Los Angeles had the Unclaimed led by the legendary Shelley Ganz, while from Boston came the Lyres led by Jeff "Monoman" Conolly. In Italy, the Sick Rose cannot be forgotten! In my opinion, the Lyres were certainly among the best representatives of the genre: in fact, the future "frontman" and keyboardist of the Lyres started performing in the '70s with the legendary DMZ, a punk group with strong '60s influences. But it was with the Lyres that he gave shape to his great passion for the '60s sound: a great admirer of Animals and Kinks, of the Sonics and all the lesser-known names in garage-punk, Jeff Conolly managed to breathe new life into an immortal sound by presenting both covers and original pieces of great value. Already in their first "On Fyre," a little classic of garage-punk, there are captivating and timeless tracks like "Don't Give It Up Now" and "Help You Ann": it's impossible to resist the overwhelming power of this music. The following album, "Lyres Lyres," released in 1986 by Ace Of Hearts in the United States and by New Rose in France, also reaches high levels in any case. Alongside the singer were the faithful Rick Coraccio on bass, Danny McCormack on guitar, and Jon Bernardo on drums. The recording is better than the previous one, and the album contains some of their best works: "She Pays The Rent" and "I Love Her Still I Always Will" are two little gems that resurrect the ghost of Animals. Yet, "Not Looking Back" and "You'll Never Do It Baby" manage to be sharp and incisive thanks to Danny McCormack's cutting fuzz guitar, a true trademark of their sound along with the legendary Farfisa organ. "How Do You Know" is another hard-hitting track along the lines of "Help You Ann," while the riveting "Busy Men" comes from the DMZ repertoire. The Lyres are still active today, a testament to their ongoing devotion to the '60s sound, defying all trends.