Christopher Owens – ‘I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair’ album review: tender defiance of tragedy
THE SKINNY: After forming in 2007, it didn’t take Girls long to make their mark on a buzzing indie scene. Suddenly, the San Franciscan band were one of the brightest groups around, and they confirmed a new future for their frontman, Christopher Owens, who had grown up in a cult. Sadly, since then, he has faced an onslaught of hardships—his latest solo album reconciles them in glowing defiance.
Girls ended, drug problems arose, his best friend died, record deals ran their course, and stints of homelessness beset him. It is, in many ways, a miracle that he is still making music. The music in question carries that sentiment with great grace. There is undoubtedly a heavy morbidity to the tracks, but the trademark gospel production flourishes echo the miraculous flipside, creating something that sits somewhere between grunge and soul.
The result is an album that – no matter how heavy it can be at times – offers comfort to the listener. Given everything that Owens has been through, that not only shows incredible fortitude on his part but also showcases the natural strength of his songwriting. The sweet melodies and tender hooks evidence the joyous release that music provides for him, and that proves infectious.
Owens has always been a songwriter devoid of irony, and here the sincerity remains. However, the crushing weight of that is always levied by the floatiness of strings or the choral contributions. At the same time, neither of these distracts from the centre stage of the album: Owens reconciling his place in a world that hasn’t been kind to him. That makes for a triumphant record.
Perhaps the greatest triumph of all is that you leave it not only affected and inspired but also looking forward to hearing the lighter music that surely lies ahead for a man who has been through a lot and is beginning to look up once again. The crowning feat, therefore, is not necessarily a musical one but rather a human one, yet I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair shows that the two are one and the same.
And I’m pleased to report from a recent forthcoming interview with Owens that he is, indeed, on the up.
For fans of: Music to cry on a public bus to, and, oddly enough, Paddington 2.
The bus driver concluded, “Cheer up, son. What are you listening to? The Paddington soundtrack or something?”
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