Tweet

Album Details

• Artist: William Lazarus
• Album: Like Trees We Grow Up To Be Satellites (The Backwards America)
• Label: Temporary Residence
• Year of Release: 2004
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: bbuckingham on 2005-01-03

The hushed delivery of the male bedroom folk-pop artist. Once a welcome respite in the late-90s post-grunge hangover (think Elliott Smith, Hayden, Lou Barlow), but nowadays, the genre is frequently uninspiring. William Lazarus, a former member of San Francisco's Tarentel, spins more variations on a tired theme on his follow-up to last year's debut, Songs For An Unborn Sun.

All the hallmarks are here: frail acoustic guitars, moody keyboards, and confessional lyrics. Like Trees starts off strong with "The Walking Sonnet" and "Fashion/Murder", both songs features melancholic, inspired arrangements, particularly the latter's use of choral backup vocals. From here on in, the album slides into mediocrity. Lazarus mines a single approach - sad, slow folk pop with repetitive song structures and melodies. The dearth of ideas isn't rescued by the creative instrumentation, and a majority of the songs simply overstay their welcome.

Perhaps Lazarus will expand his palette and deliver a more inspired, diverse effort next time out. As it stands, Like Trees would have made a respectable 5-track EP.

User Reviews and Comments

Log In or Register to Rate Albums