Lish Bills

Lish Bills is a metal kid who stumbled into the world of indie rock, folk and Americana. His music explores a wide range of emotions and moods, from cynical joy to debaucherous melancholy.

Kirk Williams started Lish Bills as a solo side project while playing in Armed for Apocalypse. He released his first EP, Kicks to Get, in 2012. It is remarkably raw, recorded in two live sessions with Williams alone on guitar and vocal, engineered by Chris Keene (Surrogate, Emery, Saves the Day). Songs like “The Booze” and the title track “Kicks to Get” can resonate deeply with anyone who knows the chaos of early adulthood and the trappings of a small town.

Over the next decade or so, Williams wrote many more songs and finally, in 2023, began work on a full length album, again with Keene engineering. The album, All Love and No Heart, features a full band of Williams’ longtime friends, and rich, satisfying production. Since the songs were written over such a long period of time, there are a variety of perspectives and aesthetics, yet the album is still cohesive. Williams’ background in heavy music comes through in subtle ways, with the songs building sonically and emotionally to crescendos that range from soothing to cathartic. “Cause I Didn’t,” a song about the damage we do when we lack intention in relationships, does this with a vocal shift to falsetto and harmonies from Keene and guest vocalist Erin Lizardo. “Smash the Window” builds to an almost cinematic release with heavy halftime drums set against driving yet clean guitars and subtle synth textures, the refrain, “It’s not enough,” expressing the universal pain of falling short. Every song has something different to offer, and the album as a whole demonstrates that Lish Bills has gone from a side project to a primary focus with much left to be explored.