In The Presence of Nothing is the debut album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 by the American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 indie rock

Indie rock

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

, Lilys

Lilys

Lilys are an American indie rock band formed in Washington, D.C in 1988. The only constant member is Kurt Heasley, with the line-up changing regularly...

, co-released in 1992 by Slumberland Records

Slumberland Records

Slumberland Records is an American independent record label formed in 1989 in Washington, D.C. area and currently based in Oakland, CA. The label has released recordings from artists including Velocity Girl, Honeybunch, Lilys, Stereolab, St...

 and SpinART.

The album's title is a dig at Velvet Crush

Velvet Crush

Velvet Crush is a power pop band from Rhode Island that achieved prominence in indie-rock circles in the early- and mid-1990s. The band broke up in 1996 but re-formed in 1998 and have continued to record, releasing their most recent album in 2004...

, who released In The Presence of Greatness the previous year. The album features Lilys frontman Kurt Heasley backed by members of Velocity Girl

Velocity Girl

Velocity Girl was an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in College Park, Maryland, although it was generally known as a Washington, DC-area band...

, The Ropers

The Ropers

The Ropers is an American sitcom that ran from March 13, 1979 to May 22, 1980 on ABC. The series is a spinoff of Three's Company and based on the British sitcom George and Mildred...

 and Suddenly, Tammy!

Suddenly, Tammy!

Suddenly, Tammy! was an indie pop band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Notable for its guitarless, piano-centric lineup, the band released a self-titled album in 1993 on spinART Records and a second album, We Get There When We Do on Warner Bros. Records in 1995...

, and the band's early My Bloody Valentine influence is strongly in evidence, with Jason Ankeny of Allmusic even going as far as calling the album "the quick follow-up to Loveless that My Bloody Valentine never made", and Douglas Wolk of Trouser Press

Trouser Press

Trouser Press was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow Who fan Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" ...

calling it "even more a product of hero-worship". Ankeny also called the album "a wonderful testament to shoegazing's brief but seminal moment in the sun."

Track listing

1. "There's No Such Thing as Black Orchids" (Lilys) - 5:14
2. "Elizabeth Colour Wheel" (Lilys) - 6:58
3. "Collider" (Lilys) - 4:20
4. "Tone Bender" (Lilys) - 3:16
5. "Periscope" (Lilys) - 5:14
6. "It Does Nothing for Me" (Lilys) - 4:08
7. "Snowblinder" (Lilys) - 4:34
8. "The Way Snowflakes Fall" (Lilys) - 12:09
9. "Threw a Day" (Lilys)
10. "Claire Hates Me" (Lilys) - 3:44

Personnel

• Kurt Heasley - guitar, vocals
• Archie Moore - guitar
• Harold "Bear" Evans - drums
• Mike Hammel - drums
• Ken Heitmueller - backing vocals
• Beth Sorrentino - backing vocals
• Jay Sorrentino - backing vocals