Shenandoah SOundcheck

In lieu of YOuth – lIlac WAr

“Songwriting is about storytelling and Lilac War has done that with style.”

By AnnMarie Hall, October 24th, 2023

When I think of songs created within the valleys of the Appalachian Mountains, strumming guitars beside rivers, and tapping feet on dry mud, In Lieu of Youth captures that essence. But Lilac War brings in that modern feel of indie-folk singer-songwriters that has been popularized by artists like Noah Kahan or Sufjan Stevens. In Lieu of Youth is Lilac War’s third EP consisting of five songs: “Hibernating,” “Appalachian Great,” “I’m Sorry You’re Upset,” “Over the Telephone,” and “Winchester (Revisited).” 

With a mix of guitar and soft drums, Lilac War’s opening track, “Hibernating” sets the tone for the EP of replaying the downfalls of a relationship and being stuck in your own head. When I heard the first lyric, I knew that I would be listening to a relatable song. After a couple melancholy strums on the guitar, he sings “The neighbors upstairs/ They sound like elephants.” At first, I laughed at the image of elephants living in the apartment above me, but then I was hit in the face with the chorus when he sings, “Days feel like months, when they’re iterating/ And these years feel like days, when I’m hibernating.” His cadence when rhyming ‘iterating’ and ‘hibernating’ is very mesmerizing. And the lyrics encapsulate that feeling of how time moves slowly, but dissociating as the years zoom by. The line, “I’m stuck in my head, deliberating,” is also the first time of many in the EP that he emphasizes overthinking or being stuck in your head in general. 

Most of the songs are brilliantly pensive or even sorrowful, but the second track on the EP, “Appalachian Great,” is filled with that bouncy music of Appalachian influence. I can hear a harmonica and there might even be a banjo supporting the guitar and drums. Out of all five songs, this one screams the most Appalachian to me, which was more likely than not a deliberate choice because of the content. “Appalachian Great” is the most upbeat song on the album, but the lyrics are not in the same realm of upbeat. Lilac War is deceiving with his use of cheery music and wishful lyrics. He sings, “If you knew that I exist, I’d simply forget/ The way to form these words that thrash and kick around my head.” Once again, he uses the imagery of being in his head to synthesize his dreams of being in this relationship. He also sings, “And oh, I couldn’t sympathize with life without this chase.” Along with some of the lines in other songs in this EP, “I’m Sorry You’re Upset” and “Over the Telephone,” it is apparent that there might be some one-sided energy in this relationship. But that is a staple in indie-folk. Nonetheless, the line, “Damn, she’s an Appalachian great” has been stuck in my head since I started writing this review. 

The next song on the EP, “I’m Sorry You’re Upset,” is about realizing that a relationship might not be working out. And the following song, “Over the Telephone,” seems to suggest that that was the ultimate downfall in the relationship. These two songs seem to work together the most, and they suggest a timeline of events. There is juxtaposition in the line, “You and I will never die,” from the 3rd track, and the line, “If you give up, I’ll fall apart,” from the 4th track. The relationship does not seem to have ended yet in “Over the Telephone,” but that tension is there, and it is clear that things have not progressed well since “I’m Sorry You’re Upset.” I love it when songs work together and almost speak to each other in contrast. Songwriting is about storytelling and Lilac War has achieved that with style in this EP. 

The final song on In Lieu of Youth, “Winchester (Revisited),” is — as suggested by the parenthetic — a revamp of a song Lilac War originally released in 2019. After about four years of separation, the updated version of “Winchester” has more reflection and growth in the music production rather than the melancholy strumming of a single guitar. The more hopeful production of “Winchester (Revisited)” fits the same vibe as the rest of the EP. I love to hear the small but impactful changes made to this updated version. 

Lilac War wrote a beautiful EP, and I am excited to see what he might do next.