The Lilacs prove their classic sound will never go out of style.

The Lilacs. Still busy rocking. Still playing clubs with static, single-color stage lights.

Ken Kurson and David Levinsky form the core of The Lilacs, a Chicago power-pop band releasing their first new music in over 25 years. The Lilacs Endure is a 4-song EP that sees the group picking up exactly where they left off, crafting timeless little guitar crunchers that are sticky as warm bubblegum on a hot summer day.

The group’s sound is exactly what you’d expect when you consider Kurson once played bass for Chicago legends Green, and Material Issue’s Jim Ellison provided the band with their name and produced their debut 7” The Lilacs Love You, released way back in 1991.

I’ll admit I’m new to the band, which is odd since they ran—and presumably now run again—in many of the same musical circles I do. But you can certainly count me as a fan now. My initial take on the new material, before I read any of the band’s history, was that they sounded like a slightly more aggressive version of The Pooh Sticks, a Welsh band that was primarily a studio project with a rotating cast of musicians giving voice to the fictional band members a la The Archies or, well, Gorillaz. Theirs was a shaggy sort of pop that had roots in the late ‘70s with multiple nods to other artists, and The Lilacs share some of that musical DNA, albeit with a more focused and organic approach.

It’s wickedly fun stuff.

“Monica” is the lead track off the new EP, and though the video was posted months ago I’m betting you, like me, never saw it. So check out the video below. Want more? Sadly the band seems to be avoiding my streaming player of choice (Bandcamp!) so there’s a Spotify stream below, though those are always wonky once you step outside the player. No matter, it’ll bring you to the EP one way or another … and you want to hear this!





The Lilacs will celebrate the release of The Lilacs Endure at Phyliss’ Musical Inn on October 19 at 9 p.m. The new EP is out now.