Liza and the WonderWheels – Meet the Animal
If you like not too hard-edged punk with a little bit of rock, you’ll enjoy Liza and the WonderWheels’ CD, Meet the Animal. This is a group of musicians that know their craft. The songwriting is great and the vocals are good. Liza Garelik has a decent voice and the instrumentals are tight and somewhat complex—they are interesting on their own with vocals reminding me of Blondie from the early 80s.
This being their second CD, Meet the Animal demonstrates that a good rock band can sound just as good live as they do on a recording. Ian Roure plays lead guitar and handles those psychedelic lines well, Andy Mattina really stands out on the bass, and Joe Filosa’s handling of the drums is expert. This is a tight band that can hold its own.
My favorite tracki is the third track, “Hush Not Sweet Pea,” a lullaby—it has a surprising sound where it starts off as a lullaby but surprisingly morphs into a hard rock-edge with a fold style. The lyrics here are good.
I also liked the fourth track, “What I Do for Payday?” This song has an infectious beat and nice lyrics. This has some good songwriting behind it, and the melody makes you want to sing along.
The fifth and sixth tracks lean toward classic “protest” rock of the late 60s and early 70s. “Clergy Man” definitely stands out as folk rock and has a message worth listening to.
What I like about Liza and The WonderWheels are good song writing, tight instrumentals, and lyrics that are neither too literal nor too abstract.
To learn more about Liza and The WonderWheels, visit their website atwww.lizasongs.com.
Lisa Trimarchi
