Now and Then (2022)
Let’s not dance around it—Now and Then is a debut album that sounds like anything but. It’s confident, polished, emotionally articulate, and packed with hooks that feel like they were written for the golden hour of a coming-of-age movie that somehow also punches you in the throat. In the best way.
For a band that cut their teeth on EPs laced with shimmering melancholy and pop-rock bite, this record feels like the full realization of a sonic identity they’d been circling around for years. Now and Then isn’t just cohesive—it’s a declaration. A flag planted on the hill of Y2K-era pop rock, proudly fluttering in the winds of modern indie and alt stylings. It glimmers, it aches, and it absolutely knows what it’s doing.
Give You Everything opens the album like someone kicking down the door to your heart while holding a glitter cannon. The track’s anthemic immediacy is striking—melodically rich, dynamically balanced, and dusted in this twinkling production that feels like sunlight hitting a mirrorball or Edward Cullen. Eliza Klatt’s vocal control is effortless and addictive, flowing through the verses with a kind of velvet-gloved strength. The harmonies melt like warm butter. It’s seductive, shimmery pop rock with emotional depth—and yeah, it hits hard.
Then you hit Save Me, and suddenly the record is gripping your collar with two hands and locking eyes with you. There’s a tightness to the rhythm section here that elevates the track’s drive without ever sacrificing its emotional pull. The blend of synth-gloss and gritty rock elements is kind of intoxicating—like if CHVRCHES and Paramore got stuck in an elevator and decided to start a band instead of calling for help. Eliza’s vocals here? My goodness. Just give me the IV hookup. No notes.
You follows and leans into that late 2000s pop rock glow, evoking shades of Hilary Duff or early Kelly Clarkson. It walks this very specific tightrope—balancing throwback sentiment with forward-facing power-pop precision. It’s familiar in all the best ways, and still somehow feels entirely like them.
Throughout the record, there’s a consistent thread of 2000s post-pop punk revival—think power chords and emotional crescendos—but it’s laced with modern indie rock’s atmospheric gloss. It’s the kind of sound that lives equally well in a packed venue or under your headphones while you pretend your car ride to the grocery store is a music video.
Tracks like Nothing Yet and Lonely continue that balance beautifully. The former is an effervescent, polished pop rock gem, and the latter is perhaps one of the album’s most emotionally resonant moments. With its driving guitar strums and angelic synth lines, Lonely is less about wallowing and more about swimming gracefully through isolation—with creative dynamics that keep your attention locked in.
Then there’s Halloween, and look—we need to talk about Halloween. This track builds a sonic atmosphere so thick you could get lost in it for decades. The drums are urgent, the synths haunting, and the pacing walks this tight line between dreamy and desperate. It’s a brilliantly built piece of pop-rock architecture, and Eliza’s reverbed vocals are nothing short of hypnotic. It’s the track that makes you stare out a rainy window and bask under rich blue light.
Bed Song and Get a Hold of You bring the energy back up, reintroducing the post-pop punk guitar lines with anthemic choruses that feel destined for live singalongs. “You’re stuck in my brain / I get stuck there too” is the kind of lyric that feels like it was ripped from a diary you’re not sure you wanted anyone to read—but you’re so glad someone did.
By the time we hit Circles and All the Time, the band is deep in their groove—fusing 2000s pop rock nostalgia with indie rock sensibilities that give the tracks a modern edge. There’s a momentum to these songs that makes them feel like movement—whether that’s driving too fast with the windows down or emotionally pacing around your bedroom. Both work.
And then, of course, there’s Now and Then. A closer that doesn’t just tie a bow on the album—it blows it wide open. It’s explosive, climactic, and cathartic, like an emotional exhale after holding your breath for the entire runtime. It’s a full showcase of what this band does best: tension and release, melodic grandeur, and Eliza’s vocals soaring like a spotlight in the dark.
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Now and Then is an album that doesn’t just hit—it sticks. It’s dynamic without being overwhelming, nostalgic without being derivative, and deeply honest without ever sacrificing its sense of fun. This is a band that knows what they want to say and exactly how they want to sound while saying it.
This debut doesn’t ask for your attention—it commands it. And if this is Eliza & The Delusionals just getting started, then we’re all in for something very special.
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Highlight Songs:
Give You Everything
Nothing Yet
Halloween
Save Me
Lonely
Now and Then
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Own it, Stream it, Forget about it?
Like I said, this is a band that knows what they want to say and exactly how they want to sound while saying it. We owe it to them to buy and listen to every single copy out there in the world. The clock has already started. Get to it!
