Anglo-French melodic rock band Lazarus Heights releases their second album called “Papillon” on 20th September 2024.
The band features singer-songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Dick Grisdale, drummer Jeff Gautier; Paul Mouradian on keyboards and BV’s; and bassist Simon Pearson. Reading the press release, it’s a big-sounding rock album with 10 hugely original songs and 2 covers, including Jacques Brel’s ‘Next’, given an Alex Harvey treatment. The whole album flows into the closing self-titled anthem, ‘Lazarus Heights’, which is an essential statement of what the band is all about. Originally formed in 2007 by Dick Grisdale, Lazarus Heights steadily built their profile in the Dordogne area of South West France before seasoned rock drummer Jeff Gautier joined the band in 2020.
I had no idea what to expect here and was met with an eclectic album that I will tell you about!
My review.
“Papillon” opens up with a heavy vibe, a strong bass feel and a textured piece of music that has this little Arabic vibe somewhere in there that I rather liked. The vocals are dreamy and the lead vocal is joined with some background harmony later in the track that works well and I wasn’t expecting. So a good opener.
“Fall for You” leads with these big drums put up in the mix, but a lighter poppy feel of melody over the top. “There is trouble in this town,” we are told. The song has a commercial radio feel about it, a very melodic chorus and I enjoyed the vocals on this one.
“Murder Blue” continues to deliver a very polished production; the whole album is extremely slick and this track is kind of a funky pop with a great little groove and a lyrical nod toward some Biblical citations and a few familiar phrases that I enjoyed spotting. I would agree with the guys that a woman scorned can be a dangerous matter!
“Dry Martini” opens up like a Bond theme tune. A very heavy instrumental with a nod toward a more swampy vibe. It’s a big production number, loads of different sounds and little funky inserts. It’s also a song where the guys are clearly having a blast, enjoying the event that they have made the track.
“Dive” changes to a more dreamy guitar that reminded me of Hank Marvin’s playing a bit. It is an intense vocal performance, very empathetic and the guitar break mid-song is one to savor and reminds me that this is very much an ensemble who all pull their weight. They musically connect really well.
“Waterfall” has the power chords and heavy riff. The drums provide a solid heartbeat and this one should attract rock radio for some play. It has a catchy chorus that you are still singing along to in your head when the track ends and the keyboards play us out in a way that is kind of spacey!
“Next” is a cover of Jacques Brel’s song that a few artists have turned to over the years. I kind of liked a version by Camille O’Sullivan that is out there. This is a heavy take on it, with the drums anchoring well, but it was not, for me personally, one that I liked. I think it was a slight misfit on the album.
“The Joker” contains some quite unusual lyrics, “The perfect stranger in a curtained room, with a view looks like you,” and the track as a whole is a little bit like a psychedelic painting in music. I would describe this as a solid album track, and it rises to a powerful chorus.
“The Living Room” turns toward a simpler acoustic and a ballad feel within a song that includes “objet d’art” in the lyrics. Even so, they get away with it! It’s full of story and rhythm. You find yourself as a listener entwined with the simple folk style delivery.
“The Pleasure” returns to rock and also has those touches of the East that I liked in one of the earlier numbers. Instrumentally, this may well be my favorite on the album.
“Fantasie Militaire” is the second cover track on the album, Alain Bashung’s ‘Fantaisie Militaire.’ It works as a cover; a change of touch and the French provides a new texture and taste to the album. I’m going to nod to the drums again that pound away to this one, and it does a pretty neat job of freshening the track up.
“Lazarus Heights” ends on a bluesy rock feel with a big rock synthesis and a dose of politics in the lyrics; I’m not getting into that debate as I’m hoping we get another number 10 departure as soon as possible! It does do a decent job of bookending the album and has a strong melodic feel.
As a whole, the album definitely has that classic rock feel, and commercial radio should surely grasp at some of the tracks that would sound great on late evening radio. I feel the band grew up on Zeppelin, retained a love of eighties pop and somewhere there is a band member who likes some jazz! It is an adventurous album, has some very slick production and there is a lot to be found in the listening. When it hits those Eastern notes, or the drums surge and the guitars are really exciting, this is a damn good album. I could have dropped one track, but I am being picky there; it often squeezes the lemon of success just fine.
Standout tracks: “The Pleasure,” “Dry Martini,” and “Fall for You.”
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By Anna-Louise Burgess