Ex-Girls frontman Christopher Owens caused a good deal of heartbreak after leaving the band back in July, but since then has proved his other musical escapades worthwhile. The frontman turned model’s new solo effort Lysandre is an introspective, beautiful work, showing the musical panache and flair he possesses which was perhaps not fully expressed in his work with Girls.
‘Turnstile Music’ is a soft, elegant track incorporating an underlying undulating guitar riff with his soft yet powerful voice, and is perhaps a contender for the best, most heart-felt track on the record. Admittedly, the album is not breaking many boundaries with its style – the acoustic undertones and lyrics which appear to look deep into Owens’ mind are nothing we have not seen before. However, the album is remarkably complete, and Owens makes no apologies for creating music he feels comfortable with, which is shown in his lyrical openness and experimentation with perhaps more old-fashioned styles. He incorporates a more jazz feel in tracks such as ‘Riviera Rock’, with an accomplished saxophone riff and twinkling piano part.
At times, it feels as if the tracks are merging into one, album length song. In many ways, this could be seen as a bad thing, as variety is often lauded as an essential element in a successful album. However, this does not seem to matter so much in Lysandre. In ‘Love is in the Ear of the Listener’, Owens proclaims how he “does not care what people think,” referring presumably to reviewers and the public who can potentially criticise the music he clearly works so hard to create. The carefree lyrics and bounding tunes show the ethos of Owens and create a sense of purity and joy. This combined with the narrative element of the record, the ups and downs of relationships, produces something truly endearing. It does not matter that Owens is not necessarily producing something ground-breaking in this album. There is enough musical talent here to beat many contemporary artists trying to imitate such creativity.