Highest Recent Ratings

Albums to watch

Lysandre

Christopher Owens

Lysandre

Debut solo album from the former singer-songwriter with San Francisco lo-fi indie pop duo Girls

ADM rating[?]

7.0

Label
Turnstile
UK Release date
14/01/2013
US Release date
15/01/2013
Listen on Spotify
Related Links
Last.fm Myspace Wikipedia
Share
Share |

  1. 8.0 |   The Fly

    Lysandre is artistic, smart, romantic and self-aware, and skips nimbly along a tightrope between splendour and self-indulgence
    Read Review

  2. 8.0 |   BBC

    The man’s bid for a place in the pantheon of gifted and fascinating greats is still on course
    Read Review

  3. 8.0 |   Q

    The kind of bold left turn that marks him out as something special rather than something freakish. Print edition only

  4. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Continuing his romp through totally unfashionable styles, armed with his endearingly earnest voice and a lot of flutes. Print edition only

  5. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    Owens’s first solo album is a revelation that he is more talent than dilettante
    Read Review

  6. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    A series of dreamlike recollections of one turbulent summer – is mostly irresistible
    Read Review

  7. 8.0 |   Mojo

    It's satisfying to hear his finished product continue to match his mammoth ambition. Print edition only

  8. 8.0 |   The Observer

    Lysandre is a composite love story as old as the hills, but this retelling is surprisingly refreshing
    Read Review

  9. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    An undeniably slight work from the prolific songwriter, but it’s fecund with ideas and charm
    Read Review

  10. 8.0 |   DIY

    Stylistically it may differ from Girls, but lyrically it's in very much the same realm
    Read Review

  11. 8.0 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    At only 28 minutes long, Lysandre is easily digestible in a single sitting, but that really just embellishes its true purpose – to temporarily whet our appetites till all those other Christopher Owens solo records appea
    Read Review

  12. 7.5 |   The 405

    Isn't necessarily the record Girls fans will be expecting, or even want – they might be disappointed, they might be angry
    Read Review

  13. 7.5 |   Pretty Much Amazing

    Lysandre doesn’t contain a bad song (even the filler works!), and yet it fails to come together successfully

  14. 7.5 |   A.V. Club

    The 11 songs clock in at less than half an hour, and the main musical theme that shows up in nearly every one of them becomes a wearisome prop by the end of the album
    Read Review

  15. 7.4 |   AltSounds

    Not many would dare to create an entire album based in a single key, to sing songs so unabashedly romantic, or to make the unusual transition from fuzzy indie-rock to flute-backed folk or jazz
    Read Review

  16. 7.0 |   Rolling Stone

    On his solo debut, he nails a Seventies-singer-songwriter sound oozing treacle and sincerity
    Read Review

  17. 7.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Owens can without question turn a hook, and he furthermore seems incapable of doing so without leaving a bit of himself in there with it
    Read Review

  18. 7.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    For the most part Lysandre is a masterful exhibition of how to execute and relay truth and emotion
    Read Review

  19. 7.0 |   NME

    Girls may be over but Christopher Owens is more alive than ever
    Read Review

  20. 7.0 |   Paste Magazine

    A wispy slip of a concept album spun from the rush and gush of more idealized beginnings
    Read Review

  21. 6.9 |   Beats Per Minute

    It’s clear that Lysandre’s mellower instrumentation and sparser arrangements are a reaction to the near psychedelic grandiosity of Father, Son, Holy Ghost
    Read Review

  22. 6.5 |   Pitchfork

    A narrative concept album that runs a mere 29 minutes and is both more musically ornate yet somehow also slighter than anything Girls attempted
    Read Review

  23. 6.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Too often, it just doesn’t seem like he was as ambitious with the craft of this one as he was with past efforts, however natural they may have sounded
    Read Review

  24. 6.0 |   The Irish Times

    Sweet, but sorely in need of some contrasting sharpness
    Read Review

  25. 6.0 |   musicOMH

    It may be hard to accept the end of Girls, but on this evidence, Christopher Owens as a solo artist will only get better
    Read Review

  26. 6.0 |   Spin

    Tones down the dramatic fragility of Girls for something lighter and more assured
    Read Review

  27. 5.5 |   Under The Radar

    Owens is a tuneful songwriter and an earnest one
    Read Review

  28. 5.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    It comes off as tiresome, syrupy and awkward
    Read Review

  29. 5.0 |   All Music

    The album is a decent attempt at a fresh start that won’t put off too many Girls fans
    Read Review

  30. 5.0 |   PopMatters

    Lysandre suffers from a lack of direction and cohesion
    Read Review

  31. 5.0 |   The Digital Fix

    This is a decent enough effort whose charms may eventually seep in, but as listeners it's fair to ask whether there's enough here to properly care
    Read Review

  32. Back to main chart

blog comments powered by Disqus
buy it at amazon download it from itunes

Watch it

Roll over video for more options

Hear it

Preview & download it

Christopher Owens: Lysandre

  • Download full album for just £7.49
  • 1. Lysandre's Theme £0.89
  • 2. Here We Go £0.89
  • 3. New York City £0.89
  • 4. A Broken Heart £0.89
  • 5. Here We Go Again £0.89
  • 6. Riviera Rock £0.89
  • 7. Love Is In The Ear Of The Listener £0.89
  • 8. Lysandre £0.89
  • 9. Everywhere You Knew £0.89
  • 10. Closing Theme £0.89
  • 11. Part Of Me (Lysandre's Epilogue) £0.89
  • Service provided by 7Digital

Latest Reviews

Our Girl  The Good Kind

‘The Good Kind’ is a slow burner, but a rewarding one DIY

Primal Scream  Come Ahead

Another chapter in a band priding themselves on forward movement while celebrating their storied past DIY

Tyler, The Creator  Chromakopia

Testament to the importance of allowing people to grow and change DIY

More reviews

All-time top 10

Since we've been around, that is. So, the highest-rated albums from the past twelve years or so. Rankings are calculated to two decimal places.

  1. 9.3

    Kendrick Lamar To Pimp A Butterfly

  2. 9.2

    Fiona Apple Fetch The Bolt Cutters

  3. 9.1

    Kendrick Lamar Damn.

  4. 9.1

    D'Angelo And The Vanguard Black Messiah

  5. 9.0

    Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Ghosteen

  6. 9.0

    Self Esteem Prioritise Pleasure

  7. 8.9

    Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways

  8. 8.9

    Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds Skeleton Tree

  9. 8.9

    Frank Ocean Channel Orange

  10. 8.9

    Dave We’re All Alone In This Together

See full list