It’s been five years since Liz Nistico launched her post-HOLYCHILD solo endeavor Revenge Wife, evolving the project’s sound through various shades of synthpop via a slew of singles. With her debut album Alien Witch, though, her influences have shifted from Italo disco to the radio rock of the ’90s and early ’00s as the music she makes expands into a full-band affair. She cites The Cardigans and Julian Casablancas’ side-project The Voidz as her primary influences, which come through in a self-produced indie-pop sound that never quite leans all the way into twee-pop or hypnagogic synth music.
To hear Nistico break down her influences on Alien Witch, most of the sounds that inspired her were rooted in the turn of the millennium—even if bands like The Strokes and Radiohead were recent obsessions after ignoring them during their peak popularity. Elsewhere, the music of Dave Matthews Band, Third Eye Blind, and Ted Leo bring her back to her youth, and Blood Orange and Black Moth Super Rainbow helped her expand her sonic boundaries around the time she’d begun HOLYCHILD. “For Alien Witch, it all just feels like I’m returning to who I am, and these moments of connection to music were so meaningful to me,” she shares.
With the album out today, check out her full playlist below, along with her reminiscences on each pick. You can stream the album here.
The Voidz, “Alien Crime Lord”
There are so many Voidz songs I love; actually, getting into The Voidz led me to The Strokes (I’m countercultural at heart, so they were just too popular when I was in college). I love The Voidz’s production, the way they do what they want. I was driving around LA listening to KCRW and I heard them on an interview answering [questions] like they just didn’t care at all to be there. I aspire to be like them.
Sarah McLachlan, “Sweet Surrender”
This delay guitar tone at the intro has really influenced my production. Plus, my album is so spiritual—spiritual in the simplest way of just allowing music to flow and not obstruct—and Sarah McLachlan’s concept of surrender in this song is so inspiring to me.
Radiohead, “My Iron Lung”
I had a deep The Bends time last winter while I was working on Alien Witch, just playing it so loud. My song “Inevitable Discomfort” is very inspired by The Bends (plus airy vocals á la Cocteau Twins). Actually, I have another song I wrote that sounds a lot like “My Iron Lung”: “Fight for Me” by my other band, HOLYCHILD. I wrote that song on piano, and funnily enough we did ask Radiohead if they wanted publishing and they were chill and declined—or they just didn’t want us using their name to promote our record, which I get now that I’m slightly somebody (not at all) and some artists have tried to do that to me and I’ve also declined, because I don’t want to be your press mule!
Blood Orange, “Champagne Coast”
In 2013 my best friend Lexi mailed me a mix CD for Christmas and I remember hearing this song for the first time. I’m a big Blood Orange fan; I also love Dev Hynes’ project Lightspeed Champion. 2013 was a pure time for me, before I felt like I needed something from music. I like how loud the drums are in this song. I love his voice. I love the “come to my bedrooms.” I’d like to make music with Dev—maybe he’ll notice me someday.
Black Moth Super Rainbow, “The Healing Power of Nothing”
I love the concept that nothingness can heal, that we don’t actually have to do anything. Black Moth Super Rainbow is such a huge inspiration of mine, especially this album [Cobra Juicy]. It feels like the prototype to Tame Impala’s Currents. It’s slow, it’s hard, it’s sexual.
Brand New, “Sic Transit Gloria… Glory Fades”
I love emo music from 2003. I worked at PacSun in the mall when I was 17. I used to speed in my Saab, always late for work, to fold laundry so I could get a discount on the bathing suits and talk about music with whoever would talk to me. I got into this album [Déjà Entendu] recently. I think the first five songs run so seamlessly into each other, I feel so inspired. It’s such a push-pull of tension, plus the bass on this album is so hot to me.
311, “Reconsider Everything”
I got kicked out of a 311 concert when I was 17 for crowd surfing too much. These drums are so good, the guitars sound perfect. Also, I like how political 311 was. They feel like the personification of “real eyes realize real lies,” but in a good way. This album [Evolver] is really cool and weird. I remember so many loser guys telling me that 311 wasn’t hard enough when I was in high school. Why did guys always think that was the right thing to say? God, where are they now?
Incubus, “Are You In?”
It was hard to pick which Incubus song from Morning View I wanted on here, but I decided to go with “Are You In?” because a lyric from this song (“It’s so much easier when seafoam green is in fashion”) is referenced on my song “Inevitable Discomfort” (“Nobody’s saving me, now it’s all seafoam green”) for when the protagonist of the song is drowning in discomfort, kind of as a way to present a parallel universe where going through hard shit in life is trendy and beautiful. Incubus changed my life. I speak Italian because their song “Warning” (also “Morning View”) inspired me to move to Italy and follow my little dreams when I graduated from high school. Later, I was with my friends Young the Giant in LA. We were jamming in their basement and after the guitarist said “You sound good, are you in a band?” I said, “Yeah, it’s HOLYCHILD. You sound good, too, are you in a band?” And he said, “Yeah, it’s called Incubus.” That was my introduction to LA.
But the drums on this record were such a huge inspiration for me—especially that sloppy snare from the mid 2000s. I used to hate it. I felt like the snare from Elliott Smith literally sounded like a trash can, but then something turned around inside of me. Anytime I hate something—I mean abhor—I follow that visceral reaction and I know I’ll turn to love it. That’s why Nickelback is going to have a huge comeback. Because visceral reactions should be listened to. Why do we have to like everything all the time?
Third Eye Blind, “God of Wine”
This whole album is very important to me, and it’s weaved in and out of my life at different times. I first found it when I was in high school, but later, HOLYCHILD recorded at Barefoot in LA which was Eric Valentine’s studio, and Eric produced this self-titled album. It’s so clean. The little guitar interludes inspired my interludes on Alien Witch. The emotion, though—that’s what matters most. I remember being eight years old listening to “Jumper” or “Semi-Charmed Kind of Life” on the radio and I felt like someone saw me. That’s really the point of all this. Then, years later, I used to sit in the kitchen at Barefoot while Eric would work, eating his almonds. Somehow I ended up with Eric’s Casio, and that opened things up for me: All my interludes on my album are vintage Casio, and I used only that for “Bermuda Triangle.”
But back to “God of Wine”: It’s a perfect song. Steven Jenkins was in attendance at my first festival performance years ago (he said he liked my set, just for the record). When he sings “On your face” every time and goes high on this song, it makes me want to cry. I want to feel everything that he does. It feels like his emotions go deeper than mine, and that’s why it feels so comforting to hear.
Joni Mitchell, “A Case of You”
My singing voice really evolved over the years working on Alien Witch, and that has been so inspired by Joni. Because she doesn’t sing for men. She doesn’t sing to be pretty. She’s perfected an open, present technique that just lets her wander through the air on all her melodies. As a female vocalist, wow, I think about the voice a lot—how we want sexy female voices, and how a lot of the time we’re going for young female voices that are moan-singing, and actually that’s so damaging on vocal cords and not sustainable. I’ve felt the lack of sustainability as an artist, and I’m rebelling against it in my own ways. Joni inspires me to just let it all hang out, not push it to be pop. Her openness is so beautiful to me.
Dave Matthews Band, “Two Step”
“Two Step” was the first song I heard when I was young where I could feel all the production of the song picked apart. I was in high school, I’d just smoked some weed, and “Two Step” came on—it felt so epic. For Alien Witch, it all just feels like I’m returning to who I am, and these moments of connection to music were so meaningful to me. I did reference DMB a lot while we were mixing, because the mixes just feel like the vocals are in the center and everything swims around it. I didn’t want a classic pop mix with the vocals on top. So yeah, I was constantly A/Bing with DMB. Plus, Crash as a whole is my comfort music. I had this CD in my car in LA a few years ago, and every one of my friends who drove with me loved it. I realized everyone secretly loves DMB.
Ted Leo + the Pharmacists, “Biomusicology”
I am so, so, so deeply influenced by Ted Leo. This was another show I got kicked out of when I was underage because I was too rowdy (Ted, please forgive me!). My album that I go to all the time is Shake the Sheets, which is a bit cleaner and definitely influenced my production. This song is just so Ted Leo: the build, the changes, his sweet voice, the drums. I feel like everything I do is so connected to Ted and his lyrics and how they say so much, and his guitar playing is just so nice. Plus, this album has a whale on it and whales are spirit creatures and I think album art matters!
