Ill Ease Press

"All Tore Up! / A Double Edged Sword Reversed" (2010)

"It’s really the back half of this split, Ill Ease’s half, that initially caught my interest but it turns out not for the reason that I thought it would. Elizabeth Sharp, the one-woman band who is Ill Ease, is known for her Pavement-style slack/swagger indie rock. However, for Reversed, what she does is completely different. old classic sounding songs from Les Paul & Mary Ford, Ray Charles, Willie Dixon and Frank & Nancy Sinatra, what she does with them can best be described as “fucking with.” Adding twisted beats, new rhythms, noises, backing vocals and I’m sure a bunch of other stuff – this is really one of the most inventive and exciting sounds I’ve heard in awhile. More please. " - The BigTakeover Magazine

"Double album. First three tracks are indie rock, last four are electro. First half: all about the dramatic rendition on vocals, almost Bowie-esque. Music reminds me of Dr Dog. All of it is midtempo. Second half: Fucking awesome! Electro mash-ups using classics like Ray Charles and Sinatra. FCC Clean, Try 3 of first pat, and 4,5 of second part. 1.Love the vocals on this. Not a very strong voice, but the feeling with which they’re screeched make up for it. Pretty sparse, typical rock instrumentation. Lo-fi, dramatic rendition. 2.Another dramatic hollering. This guy must be awesome live. Soft, fuzzy guitars and drums. †3.Halting guitar line track with a fuzzy, lo-fi quality to it. Glam rock w/o dramatic instrumentation. †4.Upbeat. Electro, with a fifties recording in background on which the music is built. Speeds up and slows down. Really cool. †5.Downtempo. Ray Charles with an ominous synth line slowly rising in background. 6.Midtempo. Blues mashed up with a halting, metallic rhythm. 7. Downtempo. Classic Sinatra on forward and rewind, no mashup." - KZSU

"...Damn, but Ill Ease has totally dominated the groove on her new EP Bits & Pieces. Here, have a quick gander. Oh wait, that’s from the previous one. And the new EP isn’t even the new EP: instead there’s something called Double Edged Sword Reversed, which is cheekiness and RHYTHM and solid great samples and RHYTHM all over. Wait, have a quick gander first. I wouldn’t want you to miss out on anything. Like it? Yeah.... including some ace deconstructions and reconstructions of Ray Charles, Nancy & Frank Sinatra, Mary Ford & Les Paul, Roy Orbison, Chuck Berry, Tina Turner and Willie Dixon. Here, here, here!! If she was male, Pitchfork would have hailed her the future of music by now. Guess they’re too busy promoting Lil Wayne, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan (the three lead stories on the website when I accessed the page just now) to bother." - PRESS Clip from ILL EASE Collapse Board Feature

"Generally, mash-up music comes across boring and lacking in creativity. The mash-up—taking another artist’s hard work and fucking it all up by trying to mix it with another artist’s hard work—may require a modicum of technical skill (not much, though, considering the crap you can pull off with a Mac and a little bit of patience), but beyond that it’s incredibly hard to do anything that’s actually worth hearing. Sure, some artists have come close. Others, like Ghostface Killa on “Holla,” which is basically verbal graffiti over an old soul standard, have superseded the idea entirely.
Mash-up music is the last thing I expected to hear from Ill Ease, the Brooklyn-based one-woman band and former drummer of indie rock’s deadbeat parents, New Radiant Storm King. Ill Ease’s side of this split record follows the same path as Ghostface, except she seemingly transposes the beats and basslines she would hum if she had certain songs stuck in her head over top of those certain songs. Coming from the composer of “Too Much Sucky (I Hate Drum Machines)” weirdly enough, the first song is a glitchy, automated beat pasted onto Les Paul and Mary Ford’s “How High The Moon.” It works because it’s completely bonkers; this is beyond the cute, fun, novel mash-up junk that gets passed off as pop music. “Fool For You,” the Ray Charles song, gets a subsonic organ buzz reminiscent of the Upsetters’ “Dracula” that changes it into a different, clodhopping beast entirely. The fact that it’s hard to tell if she’s using a turntable to screw up “Something Stupid” by Nancy Sinatra might be the most interesting part of her version, unfortunately. She remixes, adds a thumping bass drum and what sounds like turntablism to Willie Dixon’s “Brooklyn Tite Pants,” to give a modern party feel to it; it will sound better at your X-mas party than that other guy with the white sunglasses.
Lazer Crust’s flip side sounds like well-crafted indie rock with the spastic quality of New Radiant Storm King (funny he’s sharing a slab with the former drummer). Most split LPs end up as a competition for my ears, but both of these sides are incredibly listenable. This half is dark with lots of reverb, and Lazer Crust (a.k.a. Jason Zavala) goes ape just enough to sound like it'd be fun to watch him freak out onstage. The backing is solid, but frenetic, sort of like Jimmy Page’s recording studio swallowed a punk rock pizza and all that was left was the, er, crust. Sure, it’s a weird pairing for a split record, but think of it this way: you’re getting twice as much weird for the price of one." - The Agit Reader

"ILL EASE & LAZER CRUST have released a split EP out on Ionik Recordings. You my remember Lazer Crust’s front man from the review we did for his self titled project Jason Zavala. Ill Ease is a one-woman band that puts together sometimes-foreign- but-always-sweet organic compilations." - Discosalt

"I am hooked on a feeling. Lazer Crust has me in a great state of mind and really else do you want from the music you listen to? Glam rock, sprinkled with lo-fi, busting effusively and sonically proud and so powerful. Lazer Curst makes music for the timid to rise to and the unmotivated to rally to and incite madness. Lazer Curst has a split release with Ill Ease out on IONIK & 75 or Less an it’s a must have!! The band is Jason Zavala, Kevin Morrison, Clay Kennedy, Matt Filip." - Loudvine

"Turn It Loose!" (2008)

"Let me just get this out there to begin with. Straight to the point, I try to stay away from words like genius and empty filled compliments. But this album, “Turn it Loose” by Ill Ease is just ridiculous and a force that has me gushing all over when I listen to it. And yes, it is genius. Bred from the musical brain and rich tradition that is Elizabeth Sharp, all I can say is, Whoa! All the eclectic sounds that has had my stereo reverberating since I got the album has just got me shaking my head. In the middle of this crazy concoction of electro-infused sounds , it moves easily from really catchy hooks and back again to some bizarre sounding yet so stellar off tempo vocals (at times sounding like like dueling vocals). Ill Ease blows me away. Song after song is so dam original and resonates with me. With every song Ill Ease takes you on a different cosmic trip, or should I simply call it what it is; an orgasm of sound that massages you inside out and leaves you in your own world. Out of the bizarre creation that is Ill Ease, is one of the most original and solid albums I have heard in quite a while.
Ill Ease takes you from lo fi garage to synth disco beats to folk and beyond. You will want to blast this album at 6 am as you are coming down from one of those nights you never wanted to end. If there was ever an album to show people your own madness and creativity through the music you play for others, Ill Ease is it. Give it a listen, or two or about 100 hundred like I have and you will be blown away by its sheer force. It will rattle you to the core and have you just wanting to Turn it Loose!" - Loudvine.com

"One woman band that makes me think of Sonic Youth if Kim Gordon kicked Thurston Moore out of the band. I guess that would be pretty much impossible, but, anyway! Best song title on this release is “Dear Krazy.” I also dig the Casio keyboard goodness on “When Suddenly, The Evil Arrives.” “Le Jeux Son Fait” takes the rock quota up a notch. Interesting and experimental wavelengths from this project. Seek it out." - Scene Point Blank

"Well here comes trouble," or so the lyrics repeat on the opening song of Ill Ease's sixth album, Turn it Loose! And that warning should heeded by Alice as that pie-eyed lush peered down the rabbit hole in the second song, "It's a Downward Spiral" another formidable raunchy homage to go-go boot and retro circles. Elizabeth Sharp is the brain, brawn, and balls behind Ill Ease, and this swaggering, yet quirky collection of hip, snarling songs lie somewhere near the lifeless body of Daman Albarn after Elastica's Justine Frischmann kicked him repeatedly in the tenders. With snide, groovy guitar flanking, confident, rhythmic chugging and an attitude that could put the lead back in Liz Phair's exiling pencil, Ill Ease could be put on high rotation in any student union building. "Two Lanes Left" takes the party spending on the highway and is the XX chromosome version of Tom Waits ripping out his chest hair before Goin' Out West with his Bone Machine. And that, my friends, is most welcome reprieve for those men and women who are tired of waxing their beavers to Feist" - WonkaVision Magazine

"Sound: A little spacey with a lot of eclectic data and ethereally generated fields, I'll Ease is music for the open-minded and inventive. I'll Ease is the project of singer-songwriter Elizabeth Sharp whose previous works include playing the drums for New Radiant Storm King and the bass in Skinner Pilot. I'll Ease’s latest release Turn It Lose on Ionik Records is soul rock draped in techno jeweled soundwaves and slings of digital beats. The lyrics and synth-textured masses vary from repeated loops like in “It’s A Downward Spiral“ to glittering fragments clipped together like in “Here Comes Trouble (To The Tune Of Pretty Woman).” Partly modern avant and partly folk-pop, “Hate The Game” and “Two Lanes Left (All The Way)” have flickering embers relatable to Xiu Xiu as the passages roll through chambers of smooth transitions. There are shades of Asian and gypsy influences in “When Suddenly, The Evil Twin Arrives, ” and sleek western roots rock atmospherics in “Dear Krazy” on a chassis of lightly shaking beats. The big bashing drum strikes of “Le Jeux Son Fait” resonate boldly, while “My Last Tango In Paris” has a countrified twang saddled to cheerful gallops. “I Think I Might Be In Love Again” has catchy whistling phrases liken to Peter Bjorn and John with electro-pop threads woven into the melody’s consonance. The songs seem unstructured as they waver continually, creating smoky mists that move comfortably while suspended in the air. Sharp makes modern art in music form.
Lyrics and Singing: Sharp’s singing becomes an appendage of the avant shaded atmospherics as her words are sewn into the melodic fabrics making it almost impossible to separate her voice from the music. Her lyrics discuss people’s weaknesses like in “When Suddenly, The Evil Twin Arrives (The Brighton Beach Memoirs)” as she tells herself “Must be my eyes playing tricks on my mind or my mind playing tricks on my eyes.” In “Two Left Lanes, ” Sharp softly murmurs, “I’m moving on / You’re gonna wake up and I’ll be gone… You’re gonna miss me / I’m moving on.” The lyrics are quick snapshots, fragments which when lined up form linear images that connect to one another.
Impression: Elizabeth Sharp’s project I'll Ease allows her to see her life from the outside, as if she was writing a screenplay about herself. As a self-contained artist, Sharp shares this quality with Imogen Heap whose one-woman shows have made a lasting impression on audiences. Sharp’s ability to present song structures that seem entirely disorganized and yet totally controlled by the actions of one individual, reinforces the belief that one person’s vision can make a difference. Starting out her life in music as a drummer, it is the rhythmic movements that stand out in her compositions, and the harmonic masses that move around it. Her melodic sensibilities have avant motifs comparable to Xiu Xiu, lyrics which are completely personal, and obscure patterns that pioneer inventive directions. Sharp’s melodic schemes show ingenuity and a talent to explore the unknown. - Ultimate-guitar.com

"Once again one of Brooklyn’s most prolific (or at the least hardest working) indie rock artists returns with her virtual band and album’s worth of groove heavy, if somewhat repetitive jams. The jump off “Here Comes Trouble (To The Tune of Pretty Woman)” (Which actually sounds nothing like Roy Orbisons’ Pretty Woman), probably has a little more in common with Norman Greenbaum’s classic “Spirit In the Sky”, with its shuffle beat and handclaps, or at least whatever sound effect or instrument it is that sounds like hand claps. Another peculiar track (among many) “Downward Spiral”, is simultaneously simplistic and dexterous. For a song with basically two chords and lyrics that more or less repeats the title of the song over and over, after a couple listens it really starts to take on a dark, hypnotic, and psychedelic feel. Weather speaking on drug addiction, bad relationships, credit card debt or what have you, the seemingly opened-ended statement could apply to many things and relate to many different people. And maybe that’s another deceptively great thing about Liz Sharp’s latest outing; the subject matter is often so vague and one dimensional until it becomes universal and open to individual analysis. How many different ways could “Hate the Game” and “I Might Be in Love” be taken?
Once again, Sharp’s music also has a substantial hip-hop inflection. A woman who could have easily been mistaken as Mike D’s tomboy little sister circa License to Ill Beasties deserves a cameo spot on Run’ House as much as, if not more than, Kid Rock. In a nutshell, while Turn it Loose treads some of the some same rthymiclly regressive territory as 2006’s All Systems a Go-Go, and not as dynamic as The Exorcist, once again Liz Sharp has put together, without a whole lot of help, either, a solid, enjoyable, challenging album that would make somebody like Prince pretty proud." - Ear Damage

"Elizabeth Sharp, aka Ms. Ill Ease, has been cutting her teeth in bars and clubs and crashing couches worldwide for a good while. The slacker sentiment conveyed in her shuffle-dance rock and drawled out vocal delivery brings to mind the heyday of '90s "alternative"-like if Stevie Malkmus were more concerned with moving feet then calling folks out on their bullshit. Oh, and if he was a woman. Still, as on Turn, it boils down to Sharp's skills on drums and when she latches onto a groove, she just won't let go. The skuzzy guitars and her yelps, howls and nonchalant coolness are all just a bonus" - The Big Takeover Magazine

"Brooklyn-based one-woman musical sensation Ill Ease’s sixth full-length, Turn it Loose!, dropped early last month. Characterized by low-fi strumming and rhythmic drumming (not to mention a host of other musical contributions), Elizabeth Sharp’s raw instrumentation and minimalist singing is a combination sure to turn heads. Lyrics range from irreverent to simplistic and repetitive. While the words leave a lasting impact, it’s Sharp’s delivery style that astounds: on initial listen, one assumes they’re grooving to an Iggy Pop- meets Rolling Stones-loving, testosterone-dominated, indie band. It’s beguiling! Sharp’s skill at seamlessly layering myriad instruments and varied vocal elements is laudable, an audible illusion if ever I heard one. Her catchy and adolescent-esque "Hate the Game" is hands-down soundtrack bound. (Think a Michael Cera "comedrama.") Sharp nods her head to history with "Here Comes Trouble," an antidote to Orbison’s original "Pretty Woman." Addictive and danceable, this track inspires clapping and singing in no time. Raucous and discordant, "When Suddenly, the Evil Twin Arrives!" offers a fun number apt to be overplayed at hipster stores everywhere. With flirty lines like "Shake it, shake it, baby! I wanna see you go crazy!" it’ll have customers rocking from dressing room to register. Seeking Southern twang? "Dear Krazy" serves up fast-paced, folksy foot tapping with a side of frenetic chorus. But don’t take my word for it; peep Ill Ease’s MySpace page or visit her official site, illease.com." - The Deli

"Ill Ease provides darkly vague comfort on "Turn It Loose!", a brilliantly executed exercise in contrasts by Elizabeth Sharp. Sharp's one-woman project - which newly credits The Racket, a name for the looping pedals she uses to hold grooves - is an unusually interesting play on atmosphere.
"Turn It Loose!" is a rather precise and complicated DIY endeavor designed to feel deceptively unstructured, a method that might draw comparisons to Beck or M.I.A., though Sharp is more akin to Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey and a blend of Throwing Muses founders Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly that combines Hersh's ominous ambiguity and rhythmic crunch with Donelly's wry cheer and infectious hooks.
The result on "Turn It Loose!" is a song like "It's a Downward Spiral!" where Sharp happily sings the titular refrain as all manner of chaos, from electric-guitar jolts to manic tambourine, drums and claps, erupts all around. Then there's the jumble of "Two Lanes Left (All the Way)," a road song (complete with city shout-outs) that comes across as both carefree and sinister as she sings about moving on. Opener "Here Comes Trouble (To the Tune of Pretty Woman)," which in fact is not to the tune of "Pretty Woman," best exemplifies Sharp's approach as she pins her deadpanned, smoky delivery of, "I don't know what I want, but I know what I like" to a propulsive, yet beguilingly murky, mix.
Meanwhile, whether she's entrenched in the full-roil of the crashing "Le Jeux Son Fait" or singing along to the whimsical whistling of the peppy "I Think I Might Be in Love Again," Sharp leaves her music wide open to interpretation. So even listeners clueless to her intent might find a way to connect to her weirdness. - Knoxnews.com

"Percussion genius Elizabeth Sharp wrote a bunch of tunes while on the road last year. She must have had plenty of moments where, though tired and foggy, there was the urge to shout out with gusto. Positive, hopeful songs abound on Turn It Loose!, and Sharp’s sound is by now hard as a rock: dense insistent drumming, off-kilter lo-fi guitar, stream-of-consciousness lyrics, her persistent overdubbed barbaric yawp over her own vocals. There is a giddy feel to the record, and it's infectious. Songs like "It’s a Downward Spiral!" "When Suddenly, The Evil Arrives! (Brighton Beach Memoirs)" and "Hate the Game" all attest to the fact that Sharp is not happy due to being naïve. Her lyrical take seems to be that since life is bizarre and sometimes mean, fuck it, embrace it and rise above as best you can. The musically dark but lyrically brave "Le Jeux Son Fait" sums up that philosophy with grace and grit. What Turn It Loose! turns loose is the spirit of a confident, savvy artist. Sharp doesn’t look away from pain but dares it to stop her. This is a funny record that makes its point fearlessly. Its ragged production and constant pulse gives it its power. You know you are listening to a person who says it like she means it." - Prefix Magazine

“Turn it Loose!” is the perfect name for the new danceable disc by Ill Ease and the Racket. Ill Ease (a.k.a. Elizabeth Sharp) wants you to feel the funk and shake some action from start to finish. Beginning with the disco deconstruction of “Here Comes Trouble (To The Tune of Pretty Woman)” and then spinning dizzily into “It’s A Downward Spiral,” Ill Ease and the Racket want nothing more than for you to, as she whoops at the end of “Spiral,” “turn it loose!” There are plenty of opportunities to do just that on “Two Lanes Left (All The Way),” “Le Jeux Son Fait,” “My Last Tango In Paris” and “I Think I Might Be In Love Again.” - Chicago Free Press

"But October is the month of plenty, and so the seventh also brings new records from Deerhoof (Offend Maggie, Kill Rock Stars) and one-woman indie band Ill Ease (Turn it Loose!, Ionik). The former contains one of the greatest living drummers around, and the latter is a lo-fi lady from Brooklyn, holding much in common with Vivian Girls, an all-girl garage punk band whose self-titled LP will be released on In the Red – you guessed it! – Oct. 7." - Campuscircle.com

"Elizabeth Sharp continues to be one of the most intriguing voices in music in the twenty-first century. Although she is slowly being accepted more and more in super hip circles around the world...Sharp continues recording the same kind of loopy, confusing music that she began recording several years ago. We have been big fans since the beginning...and our interest has never waned. What is perhaps most attractive to us about Elizabeth's music is that it makes us laugh out loud. But don't take this statement the wrong way. Ill Ease tunes are not purposely humorous and not specifically comedy. There is just something about this lady's soothingly loose sound that comes across sounding slightly goofy. And at a time in music when so many people take themselves way too seriously, this is a refreshing breath of clean air. Ms. Sharp has one of the most uniquely focused sounds we have ever heard. To be more precise, there is no one else in the world who sounds anything like her. She has defined her sound and style into her own strange form of modern art. To the untrained ear, Ill Ease songs might initially sound like accidental recordings or even mistakes. But make no mistake about it...Sharp knows exactly what she is doing. Her slightly drunk sounding mental stream-of-consciousness pop/rock is a total experience for intelligent listeners. You can listen to the thought provoking lyrics...sway and dance to the groovy beats...or just turn it up really loud and lose track of everything. In a world full of generic copycats...Elizabeth Sharp continues to expand minds and situations with her infectious and refreshing music. Nine crazy tracks here including "Here Comes Trouble (To the Tune of Pretty Woman)," "Two Lanes Left (All the Way)," "My Last Tango in Paris," and "Dear Krazy." Highly recommended. - BabySue Reviews

"I've spent countless days listening to Turn It Loose by Ill Ease. It's been extremely hard for me to actually get into the album because everything is just so repetitive, every song has the same sort of structure to it. You can honestly predict everything thats going to happen in each song, which makes the album very boring. While I commend Elizabeth Sharp for playing each instrument on her own, maybe that wasn't the best decision. There has to be more creativity if she wishes to make a successful album. Turn It Loose seems to lack a lot in that department. The vocals seem to suffer quite a bit as well. They are too soft, and even if they were louder it seems as though it would become annoying after more than one listen. In the end, Turn It Loose isn't that great of an album. You'll want to be very open to every genre of music to be able to handle and fully comprehend the style of music Ill Ease is going for. At the end of all things, I gave this album two stars due to it's lack of creativity, and the lack of talent displayed within the album." - Music Emissions

"This female solo-ist has been playing the NYC/Brooklyn DIY scene since the early 90’s. In that time she has managed to release a crop of cool lo-fi folk/pop records. Each one is a new treat for any artistic ear. On this new release you can hear Ms. Sharp taking a new stab at creating a more southern twang sound that Holly Gollightly does so well. Along with making music, Elizabeth is also a well known photographer that has her collection in New York’s Museum of Modern Art." - Crashin'in Reviews

"Ill Ease and the Racket "Here Comes Trouble (To The Tune Of Pretty Woman)" - The song just keeps moving forward, driving on in a straight line until it just stops cold at the end. It picks up a bit of speed, but it's not in any particular hurry. It just moves ahead, with a head full of ambivalence and indecision, and no real sense of purpose. It's right in the middle of pleasure and anxiety, and it's never clear whether the singer feels like the driver, or the person going along for the ride." - FLUX