Artist Picks: The Tisburys
Philadelphia's The Tisburys have just released ‘A Still Life Revisited,’ a record that takes the band soring to new heights of indie-pop-rock excellence. We asked them to put together this playlist for us so we can take a closer look and listen into the music that inspires them. You can listen to the full playlist HERE!
Frightened Rabbit “Nothing Like You”
“The early Tisburys albums & recordings, in my personal opinion, were very in-debted to alt-country singer songwriters & 90’s college rock (early Wilco, Replacements, R.E.M.) but the music I was influenced by early in my musical life was mid-2000s indie. One of my goals with Still Life was leaning into that side of my inspirations, bands like The Hold Steady, The Strokes, Phoenix, and Frightened Rabbit. Stadium rock songs for small rooms.” -Tyler
Grizzly Bear “Yet Again”
“Another type of 2000s indie that I love is the Beatles-esque Brooklyn psych-rock. Songs such as “Water In The Clouds” and “Lost In The Electricity” owe a lot to the obtuse melodies of bands like Grizzly Bear, Animal Collective, and Of Montreal. I love when there’s little noises happening in the back of songs, it keeps bringing you back and adds to the relistenable value of records; you’ll hear a new sound every time.” -Tyler
Hop Along “Horseshoe Crabs”
“Probably my favorite Philly band of all time. In terms of quality, songwriting, and taste, no one can deny Hop Along. Francis’s songwriting is on par with Dylan or McCartney in my book, and “Horseshoe Crabs” is perfect storytelling in song form. This was what I was trying to achieve on songs like “Still Life Without You” or “Elephant Hotel”. -Tyler
Fleetwood Mac - “Hold Me”
“This one was another big influence on “Forever.” I’m a firm believer that “Hold Me” is one of the most perfectly arranged pieces of pop rock ever produced. Every part seamlessly fits together - every piece perfectly placed within the sonic puzzle. Great duet from Christine and Lindsey, a solo section where I could talk your ear off about how each individual part in the arrangement brings me specific and ecstatic joy, and of course the ridiculous yelps that make the chorus. Enough said.” -Jason
Do Nothing: “Nerve”
“Do Nothing, their album Snake Sideways is perfect. “Nerve”, the first track on the album, sets that tone; it has space and subtly draws you in to ask the question of why the space in that song works so well. You come to the conclusion that this space can only exist because musically, they carved out all of these little details, textures, nuances and parts that allow space to comfortably fit. As weird as it is, when listening I was imagining their rehearsals and thinking of the conversations they were having as a band as they were figuring out what was the best thing for the song. It was super inspiring and a useful experiment to even just be able to pretend to get in the minds of this band. Though their sound is different from ours, in this track you can hear just how much work they put into it. It's all of these small details in an otherwise straight forward song that really knocked me off my feet. I used this tune as a jumping off point for how I wanted to approach this new record; the mentality that each detail, note, chord, hit, and part is played with intention.” -Dan
Fountains Of Wayne “Red Dragon Tattoo”
“RIP Adam Schlesinger. Perfect pop melodies & song structure. We’re still doing the “power pop” thing on Still Life, especially on the singles “Forever” and “The Anniversaries”; those songs are me trying to write a song as good as Fountains Of Wayne.” -Tyler
Paul Simon “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes”
“This one was a big influence for the track “Elephant Hotel”. Polyrhythms, open space between the instruments, big hearted lyrics. Also, any track from Vampire Weekend’s Father Of The Bride record would also apply here.” -Ben
Lucinda Williams “I Just Wanted To See You So Bad”
“Jangly late 80s Lucinda. Perfect song. There’s a line from “Painted Eyes” about ‘blasting Lucinda out the windows, top of our lungs”; this is the song I’m referencing.” -Tyler
The Cars - “You Might Think”
“I’m not sure another band has merged guitar rock with abundant synths and great hooks as well as The Cars did, and I could probably pick any number of Cars songs to throw in here. But I’m choosing “You Might Think” because it had an almost direct influence on our song “Forever” on the new album. Muted guitars helping keep time, great hooks, obnoxious synths. Enough said.” -Jason
Gin Blossoms “Hey Jealousy”
“This song is really influential to me. I remember the first time I heard it; my parents used to spin this record all the time when we were babies and we all would groove so hard to it. Probably my favorite song of all time.” -John
Bully “All I Do”
“Another song that is simple on the surface while having all of these parts work together to create something that sounds huge. Its simplicity doesn’t sacrifice or take away from the melody or the hook. Another one that I had in the back of my head when coming up with drum parts or thinking about how my parts would interact with the rest of the music. Sometimes the safe thing to play is what works best for the song and allows everyone an open canvas to paint whatever they want on top of.” -Dan
The Clash “London Calling”
“It’s a classic song about a classic place: we love songs about places. More proper nouns in songs! Also, the guitar tones on London Calling were exactly what we were going for on songs like “Wildfire” and “The Anniversaries”. -Tyler
Bruce Springsteen “Darkness On The Edge Of Town”
“Bruce is my alpha and my omega! Every piece of music I write has a little boss in its DNA, and Darkness On The Edge Of Town lends a lot to the music of Still Life. It’s hard to imagine a world without The Boss… I know I can’t. Both our 4th albums, and they both reckon with family and history and leaving your hometown.” -Tyler
