Girls has easily been one of my favorite bands of the last ten years. Like most fans, I was definitely bummed to hear about the break-up, but was interested to see what Christopher Owens could do on his own. Having written most of the band's songs (including albums worth of unreleased material), you could say I had high hopes for his solo debut - Lysandre.
This 30 minute thematic album chronicles his first tour with his old band, and subsequent love affair with a Frenchwoman for whom the record is named after. Most of the songs on Lysandre were written in a single day and the album has a pleasant 70's Easy Listening/Singer-Songwriter vibe (think Cat Stevens). The album also showcases some of Owens' best fingerpicking, but towards the end, the "cuteness" of the songs is overbearing and dare I say - painful as a tickle fight in hell.
This would have been an ok EP. A few of the songs aren't that bad, and it starts out rather promising. The first three songs ("Lysandre's Theme", "Here We Go", "New York City") do a good job of opening the album. "Lysandre's Theme" is a short melodic motif that pops it's head up in every other song (and Yes it gets old), but it's a nice intro. There are some nice touches of harmonica, and flute over Owens' gentle finger picking and soft vocals on "Here We Go". And inn the faster-paced tune - "New York City" Owens sings about "Texas cops and cooking drugs" over a blasting-jazzy-down on the corner saxophone solos.
But from track 4 onward, it goes downhill quick, starting with the totally generic - "A Broken Heart"; a boring ska instrumental ("Riviera Rock"); and the title track which includes the line - "kissin' and a huggin' is the air that I breathe". The last few numbers (notably the ramblin' folky tune "Part of Me") pick things up a bit, but by then, it's too late.
Owens claims he already has plans for his 2nd solo album, which he wants to take in a "crazy" new direction. But judging from his first effort, it's hard to picture how nutty his music can possibly get without his old band. Then again, perhaps he's pulling a joke on us. By releasing a sub-par debut record, he has set himself up for success to avoid the dreaded second album slump, following it up with a mind-blowing classic.
out of 5 
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