I first heard Austin singer-songwriter, Lizzy Lehman when she was with the short lived group, The Blackwells. Her new group, Carry Illinois, is a bit of a departure from the rootsy, bluegrass dirges she was known for. Instead Siren, the 5 track album released in March is a heavily produced pop record, that just happens to feature a banjo or two. With any musician, the leap from band member to solo artist is sometimes a dark void, littered with acoustic revenge songs and drum-looped epics. It’s rare to come out of the gate with a fully realized vision wherein fans of your former work don’t miss a beat. And it’s nice to see an artist come into themselves amidst such a lack of collective creativity. There is a lot of that on Siren. A lot of hopefulness and self-propulsion. Lehman herself described the sentiment of writing the songs as "Flying out of this city to this utopia". Springsteen may have said it best, and most frequently, but I’d like to think there is still room for songs about such transfiguration and hope. Carry Illinois play Empire Control Room April 24th with Unfaithful Servants at 9pm.
