News / / 06.02.13

Christopher Owens

LYSANDRE (Fat Possum)

13/20

Girls never made the classic record they wanted to, but if you merged the finest moments from their final album and paired it with their criminally overlooked Broken Dreams Club EP, you’d be close to perfection. Now that Owens has completely escaped the slackerish, contrived lo-fidelity of the US indie scene which spawned Girls, the results are mixed. Lysandre is a concept album which features the prominent, almost audacious use of flutes and saxophones. When Owen’s delicate, honey-coloured voice is set to finger-picked acoustic chords on Here We Go and A Broken Heart, the results are gorgeous, and the latter song is one of the best he’s ever written. However, the reoccurring musical motif which neatly ties things together thematically has an unappealing medieval feel that matches the album cover’s unfortunate typography. The title track was once a soulful and sunny Girls song, but it’s now had a makeover which is so twee you’re never going to be able to play it in front of your smartarse friends without them sniggering. Owens is still one of the most courageously sincere songwriters around and we’re lucky to have him. Even if we wants to have a fucking flute on his new record.

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Words: David Reed

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