Album Review: Christopher Owens – Chrissybaby Forever
2 min read
With this being Owens 3rd solo record after leaving the group Girls, the artist has searched his soul and found that his talent is enough to hold on his own. It feels as though Christopher has found his sound now, and with it, Chrissybaby Forever arguably shows a much more personal side to the singer that we just haven’t seen before.
The record starts off with a very 90s intro of radio static before leading into Another Loser Fuck Up, with all its West Coast sounds, borrowed sunshine and high spirited vocals that jump from melody to melody. The live atmosphere and roughness of it all manage to give the track and insightful edge and keep it interesting.
On the other hand, Music Of My Heart couldn’t be more different. The mentality here is more minimalistic and experimental, with the bass taking centre stage. If you can get the baselines’ uncanny resemblance to Journey’s Any Way You Want It out of your head, it’s a good addition to the record.
When you say I Love You’s Bowie-esque wonderland is held together by acoustic guitar accompanied by prettily plucked sounds, whereas Me Oh My’s upbeat rolling drums and floaty vocals create a sense of elation, with Owen singing of empty promises against emotion-laden imagery: ‘I know you think you’ve got me running circles, but you’re the one in the dark’. There’s a slight Lou Reed tinge to his voice in some tracks, and none more apparent than here.
What this album does best is show off how the singer has matured with his use of guitar. Waste Away is testament to this, with it beautiful guitar opening, building up to its slow and soulful innards. Echo-laden vocals bring the track out of its shell and add that bit of humility needed, as vocals and guitar intertwine.
Chrissybaby Forever is an album that showcases the direction Owens is going in. He’s honed his skills and created something that may be a little rough around the edges at times, but has an intense sound that burns throughout. This is an impressive piece of work, and hopefully lines the singer up to hit the big-time with whatever he does next.
