4 stars
Christopher Owens, formerly of the band Girls, has gone solo — and, as a result, his third album Chrissybaby Forever, released online May 27, sounds pretty damn good.
As part of his album tour, Owens will be performing at Cat’s Cradle Back Room on Thursday.
Crissybaby Forever generally keeps in line with Girls’ aesthetic: “Another Loser Fuckup” sounds very similar to Girls, so much so that I knew he was involved in the band without double checking the name. For me, that’s a good thing because I loved Girls — their live rooftop performance of “Lust for Life” played on repeat for half of my sophomore year of high school. However, Owens' solo work is different in a good way in that it’s a little bit more haunting and a little bit more honest.
What makes Owens stand out is his whiny voice and often self loathing lyrics that both mesh well and starkly contrast with the often peppy and upbeat high key electric guitar; his sound is almost similar to The Cure’s “Lovesong” but less goth and more surf pop with a low-fi undertone and some hints of punk thrown in for good measure.
The intro is meant to introduce you into a world that’s a little messed up and a little unsettling but enticing in its portrayal — an exploration of what haunts Owens through electric guitar-infused pop rock that puts a Band-Aid over the lyrics mentioned.
“Heroine (Got Nothing On You)” is a prime example of this. While the largely Beach Boys-esque melody plays in the background, you’re not sure if Owens is singing about how much he needs a female hero or the drug, despite the spelling in the title. It’s not a romanticization of addiction — it’s an eery anthem that both professes the highs and lows, the loving and the longing, of the distraction mentioned through the ups and downs of the song.
Perhaps the most honest and surprising song was “Out of Bed (Lazy Head),” a confessional song full of regret. While Owens’ authenticity isn’t surprising, how he portrays it is — with the sound effects, chords chosen, distorted vocals in the beginning of the song and the building guitar solo, it is almost reminiscent of certain songs on The Beatles's White Album: dreamy, a little psychedelic and primarily hopeful.
And, ultimately, that’s what Owens is — hopeful. The ballad “When You Say I Love You” is genuinely touching and sincere in its vulnerability (however, it’s immediately followed by a continuation of the song with “I Love Like I Do,” turning “When You Say I Love You” on its head and twisting it into a giving it a creepy, stalker-y vibe through infusions of off-putting lo-fi guitar mixed with a choir of children. If it sounds disturbing, that’s because it is, but it’s also brilliant.); “Come On and Kiss Me” is a resolution to experience life to the fullest unapologetically.
It’s the last song on the album though, the finale “To Take Care of Myself Again,” that serves as the parting gift to the listener. Much slower than the rest of the album, the song is a resolution for change — a call for self-improvement that leads to a better existence. A testament to its importance, Owens' released a self-directed music video for the track on June 2.
Ultimately emotional, although desperately trying to mask it, Christopher Owens’ Chrissybaby Forever is compelling, heartfelt and worth a listen — or two or three.
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