Philadelphia Weekly

"I’m kinda dorky. Maybe it’s been working for me that people don’t think I am, but for the most part I’m a pretty big geek.”

“Damn, I was getting away with it, too, until now that Philly Weekly ’s blowing my cover. You’re gonna ruin it all for me!”

Laughing over the phone, New York rocker- chick Lissy Trullie is fake-lamenting the fact that her image as the latest avatar of “downtown cool” is about to be punctured in print, all by her own admissions. “People often think that I’m really outgoing or kind of, like, badass. But I’m not. I’m pretty shy. I’m kind of a homebody. I read a lot. I’m kinda dorky. Maybe it’s been working for me that people don’t think I am, but for the most part I’m a pretty big geek.”

If Trullie—disarmingly warm, friendly, and open in conversation—doesn’t quite match up in reality with that too-cool-for-school persona, she sure knows how to work it for the cameras. In photos, her alluring androgynous look—a short and stylish copper ’do, elfin features, heavy, dark eye makeup and oft-present black biker jacket and bowler hat—is usually accompanied by an expression of casual detachment. And on her striking debut EP Self-Taught Learner , originally released at the top of 2009, the singer-guitarist (along with her three-piece backing band) positions herself as the latest in a long line of way-hip East Village rockers blending garage-y power-pop and New Wave art-punk.

Sure, you can probably hear a Strokes-via-Television vibe in the jangle of her chord progressions in “Boy Boy” and “She Said,” and a Blondie feel to the melodies and rhythms that propel the title track. There’s no point in pretending that some of the music isn’t a tad familiar, though it’s executed so well that it really doesn’t matter. But where Trullie really sets herself apart is with her voice—husky and throaty (and cigarette-scarred, she admits with a chuckle), it’s a little bit Chrissie Hynde, a little bit Dresden Dolls’ Amanda Palmer. It’s appealing, magnetic and packed with sass and self-confidence, but neither conventionally pretty nor artificially tough.

But it wasn’t long ago that Trullie’s confidence was on shakier ground. Though the 25-year-old—who grew up in Washington, D.C. before moving to New York at 16—has been involved with music all of her life and has played guitar in various bands for years, she only started singing a few years ago and initially wasn’t at all comfortable with either her voice or the role of band frontwoman.

“There was a point where I didn’t want to perform. I just wanted to write songs for other people, and that was solely for the fact that the performance aspect of it terrified me,” Trullie says. “When I started doing shows, I was too busy being scared to have fun. I didn’t know how to talk between songs. I was just happy we were able to play a song from start to finish. But, you know, I enjoy it now. I’m not up there struttin’ like Lady Gaga or anything, but it’s fun for me.”

After debuting at Lit Lounge in New York’s Lower East Side two years ago, and subsequently maintaining a steady presence at small clubs and parties, Trullie got the opportunity to record Self-Taught Learner in late 2008 for Brooklyn microlabel American Myth. In October, it was reissued by her new label Downtown Music (home to Santigold, Justice and a number of Philly acts including Amanda Blank, Spank Rock and Diplo’s Major Lazer), complete with a handful of extra tracks, including a non-gimmicky duet with Adam Green on “Just a Friend,” which sounds like the Stones or the Velvet Underground tackling the Biz Markie classic.

Still, after a year of heavy touring and writing, Trullie feels far removed from those recordings. “The EP, to me, is ... I like it, for sure, and I’m so grateful I got to make it,” says Trullie. You can hear the “but” coming a mile away. “But I can’t fully stand behind it, just ’cause there wasn’t enough time to do what I wanted to do. It was lo-fi because it had to be. But that wasn’t necessarily my intention. The songs are there, and that was the point. I’m glad it’s out there. But as far as pushing it, I didn’t get to push it.”

She has the opportunity to do so on her upcoming full-length debut album (due in the spring), which she and her band just finished tracking in London with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler at the helm. How did they get together? She’s long been in love with his guitar playing; he was intrigued by her voice.

“He’s so fantastic,” Trullie says. “I think what makes him different from other producers is that he’s a musician. That’s what he did first, and so he gets excited about what you’re playing and how you’re singing from a musician’s perspective, and not as much, like, ‘This is gonna be great for radio.’ And also, he’s so wonderful at writing songs, and he helped me in writing my own songs, you know, undoing the knots I would get myself into.”

At this stage of the process, Trullie’s only heard rough mixes of the new songs. But she’s excited about where it’s heading, and thinks the album just may alter some people’s perceptions of her as an artist.

“When you debut with an EP, there’s only X amount of songs on there to go by. So that in itself is a problem. But I can’t be like, ‘That’s not me!’ You can’t protest it when it’s out there and people can talk about it. All I can do is make another album and keep peeling those layers back as far as who I am, love me or hate me.”

Sounds cool to us. ■

Thurs., Dec. 17, 8pm. $10. With Mike Bones. Kung Fu Necktie, 1250 N. Front St. 215.291.4919. kungfunecktie.com