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| Christopher Owens |
Christopher Owens has left the teamwork of Girls with songwriting partner JR White to launch a solo career, realized in the solo debut
Lysandre (out January 22 via Turnstile). Working with Girls producer Doug Boehm,
Lysandre combines the concept album idea with an operatic structure, musical motif and all. These songs provide a narrative which revisits Owens during his first tour in 2008, a wild ride during the indie band's success from San Francisco to New York, over to the French Riviera and back again. This is just a slice of an extremely interesting life, which includes escaping as a teen from the Children of God sect, finding an millionaire patron for his music and a fragile existence on the edge of society in San Francisco. Owens describes the album as "A coming of age story, a road trip story, a love story."
Check out the second single from the album, the uptempo "Here We Go Again," complete with early rock and roll "oh-la-las" and lyrics that implore, "Don't try to harsh my mellow, man." The Lysandre theme is revisited by a guitar this time, continuing the thread throughout the album. It's a pared down approach when compared to the indie rock crunch of Girls, the music now lightly layered with acoustic instruments and backing vocals. A different tactic for this intriguing musician, definitely worth a listen.
