Ill Ease, hailing from the musical hotbed of Brooklyn, is the solo project of Elizabeth Sharp, and an unusual one at that. Influences are listed on her website with impressive electicism; varying from the hard beats of 2 Many Dj's to the doomy rock of Sonic youth and Fugazi, to the more classic rock influences of the Rolling Stones and Tom Petty. This mosaic of influences can certainly be heard on different parts of this album, all brought together with refreshing orginality. Her favourite instrument has been named as the drums, and that is easy to see why as many of the tracks are resonated with an almost carnival style drum beat, with a fair amount of clapping thrown in for good measure. A favourable comparison can also be made here with fellow New Yorkers LCD Soundsystem; just as with James Murphy, Sharp seems to to have a uncontrollable urge to merge the uplifting ambience of disco and dance with the gloomyness of punk rock. One annoyance may be the vocals; Sharp tries a bit too hard to sound like Kim Gordon/Deal here, although more high pitched, and not really as good. Nevertheless, if you're looking for some completely different, you could do a lot worse.
http://www.myspace.com/illease
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Ill Ease - Turn it Loose
Introducing: Republic of Loose