The record starts off with “Lysandre’s Theme” which is an instrumental that features a chord progression that will periodically reoccur throughout the record almost as a reminder to the listener to pay attention and follow the storyline being laid out through the album. This is perhaps the most interesting part of this album; the lyrical content. Owens does a wonderful job of telling the tale of a love lost and all the excitement and difficulties that come along with rising fame as a musician. The story line is fairly easy to follow and Owens is not trying to be vague or ambiguous with his lyrics, they are pretty blunt and straightforward. On the standout track “Here We Go” Owens says “and if your heart is broken, you will find fellowship with me.” This line is perfect, because there truly are few musicians that can write as emotionally relatable music as Christopher Owens.

This record has some great lyrics, but it has the most full instrumentation to have backed Owens yet. The album is full of flutes, steel guitars, saxophone, organs, pianos and more. It is here that this release becomes noticeably different form Owens work in Girls. Though, the song “New York City” does resemble something Girls would have done, the use of the saxophone brings a unique twist. This is one of the most upbeat songs and is one of the best tracks on the album.

Lysandre is a great start to Christopher Owens solo career. It has all the best qualities of his previous work, but is also a completely fresh and unique release from him. The album is a bit short and perhaps a bit overindulgent with the instrumentation, but Owens songwriting ability is so strong that these problems are easily overlooked. This album is not as easily digested as Owens work in Girls, but for those who are fans of his previous work or anyone who is interested in great songwriting, played with some of the greatest sincerity in music today, should check this out.