LOCAL MUSIC

Dance of Love
(self-released)

We live in troubled times. There’s the Iraq war debacle, Kim-Jung is at his most Ill…and nuclear: Terrorists have made it so that we have to buy new hair gel every time we get off the plane, and then of course there’s Dancing With the Stars. So what’s the solution? Pre-emptive strikes? Color-coded threat levels? Hand-holding? If the latter is your idea of problem-solving, then Lila, a Lawrence-based four-piece is the band for you.

A throwback to the days when levitating the Pentagon was seen as an answer to ending the Vietnam War, Lila’s music is about sending out positive vibes. It’s rainbows and puppy dogs in the age of suicide bombers and heat-seeking-missiles. All that said, Janet Michaels’ and Deborah Pine’s vocals are pretty and harmonize perfectly over the mostly upbeat neo-hippy grooves. Think the Mammas and the Papas without the melancholy edge. Think magical forest fairies on Prozac. While this is clearly not music for cynics, it’s still way better than throwing in the towel and reading the Left Behind series.