Lilo

lilo are kicking off 2025 in style with the exciting news of their debut album, ‘Blood Ties’, which they have announced is being released by Dalliance Recordings on 28 March. Alongside this, the duo made up of Christie Gardner and Helen Dixon are sharing a new song from the album called ‘It’s Not The Same In Winter’. The track begins with a gently plucked guitar part that ushers in the duo’s signature vocal harmonies as they breathe a cool sophistication over a song that explores dissociation in the midst of a crisis, artfully comparing it to the depths of winter.

The band say: “We can’t believe we get to put out a debut album this year. It’s been such a long time coming and we feel incredibly lucky to have got to make this record together. The album encompasses some big feelings; it ricochets between anger and joy and sadness and everything in between.

And Helen expands on their new single: “It’s Not The Same In Winter comes from being in the full throes of a breakup. I’d gone away to do some writing, hoping to channel my woes into something brilliant. The trip was terrible, I didn’t write a thing and actually started to feel like whole sections of my brain had gone missing. I phoned Christie. I said: it’s so weird, I can’t
remember a single thing about my ex. I can’t picture what he looked like, and all the memories I have feel like they belong to someone else. I tried looking at photos to trigger something and nothing happened, I felt like I was looking at a stranger.”

With two stunning alt-country / indie rock EPs (2022’s Sleep Country and 2023’s I Don’t Like My Chances On The Outside), childhood friends Christie Gardner and Helen Dixon proved themselves a new duo with something special going on. As lilo, their songs reflected the life of twenty-somethings in and out of love and luck, with this human element perfectly weighted alongside their arresting harmonies and rich instrumentation.

While informed by a deep understanding and love of folk music, with references to Karen Dalton and Julie Collins a regular occurrence, their music is also modern, in line with the likes of Julia Jacklin, Laura Marling and Mitski. They say they like to give their songs “a poppier lean” because “We want to have fun and try not to think too much about genre. We just write what we feel makes sense for the sentiment of each song.”

Signed to Dalliance Recordings (Francis of Delirium, HighSchool, Gia Margaret, Rowena Wise), 2025 will finally see the release of their brilliant debut album, ‘Blood Ties’. A title that reflects the pair’s enduring bond after years spent together, the inspiration for its making came after a turbulent summer they both endured; “At the time, it felt like we just couldn’t catch a break, it was just one disaster after another,” Helen says

As is often the way, their pain is our gain with the resultant set of songs feeling fully fleshed out and their best yet, a benefit from them not rushing the process. With its understated beauty, the band explore highs and lows across Blood Ties- feelings of numbness, break-ups and hardship mesh with day dreams, an open heart and moments of happiness. You start to understand the
significance more when hearing Christie describe it as “a little window into our lives that we get to keep forever.” Such is their symbiosis that it is at times difficult to separate one voice from another; “We live intertwined lives and as a result, we write about each others’ experiences as much as our own,” Helen explains.