How to describe Lazar Lazar without making its members – brothers Zach, Max and Alex Hoffman – sound like the Muppet Babies? They are so young! So adorable! It’s tempting to name them Kings of Leon, Junior and just call it a day. But that’s just not fair to a band that’s already so solid.
True, the band displays a great deal of prodigious, raw talent. And true, its members are young. However, to only describe Lazar Lazar as "up-and-coming" is a discredit to its members’ lifetime of music. The brothers Hoffman were raised by musical parents and taught to play instruments at a very young age, and it shows in their sound. Complex chords, vocal harmonies and heavily melodic tunes set them apart from many other young wannabes.
And even though they are family (almost always a prickly situation in rock music), there seems to be no Followill-esque egos in this group. They share lead vocals on many songs, and each member gets his chance to shine – more Hanson brothers than Gallagher.
Lazar Lazar appeared at 12th & Porter Saturday night, and in truth, the band felt somewhat out of their element. They zipped through their set at a breakneck pace, without stopping to allow the audience to revel in the music. They’ve got some things to work out in terms of their overall stage performance, there’s no doubt. However, perhaps the Hoffmans were hoping that the music spoke for itself – and with riffs as catchy as theirs, it certainly made an impression. – Katherine Heriges