After deciding to split his group
Girls in 2012,
Christopher Owens released his first solo record,
Lysandre, in early 2013.
Girls' short career arc went from scrappy, reverb-drowned eccentrics to majestic psych-prog-tinged rock, but his first effort finds
Owens stripping back on both reverb and majesty in favor of a more organic, intimate sound. Split between confessional, Baroque folk ballads and bubbly rockers, the brief album traces the splintering of a love affair with all the melodic strength and clunky lyrical style associated with
Owens' previous work. He sounds more comfortable laying back in the ballads this time out, surrounding his ultra-plaintive vocals with a comforting array of acoustic guitars, vibraphones, electric pianos, and female backing vocals. “Here We Go” and “Everywhere We Knew” are very sweet songs that show a nicely tender side to
Owens’ quirky persona, and the bouncy title track sounds like something twee and happy enough for
Donovan to take a crack at. The album is a decent attempt at a fresh start that won’t put off too many
Girls fans, and shows that
Owens may just have a future as a sensitive singer/songwriter. ~ Tim Sendra