Jersey Beat reviews Christopher Lee Lewis album

Jersey Beat’s Paul Silver totally nails the intent and essence of Christopher Lee Lewis’ They Haven’t Figured Out What’s Wrong With Me with this review:

“Christopher Lee Lewis is a Midwesterner who made the move to Los Angeles, and though he started his musical life playing drums, his debut solo LP is just him and his acoustic guitar. The record serves a worthy cause, as all proceeds will be donated to The Trevor Project. The ten songs on this LP are subdued and relaxed; with just acoustic guitar and vocals there are definite folk influences, but more than that I can hear hints of psychedelia. The PR materials are spot on when mentioning Roky Erickson’s “For You” and Kurt Cobain’s “Do Re Mi” home demo. What immediately came to my mind was Erickson’s “You Don’t Love Me Yet,” because the songs have the same relaxed yet emotional feel. And even though the musical vibe is relaxed, the lyrics often are not. Such is the case with the album’s opening track, “Enmity.” The song is quiet and delicate, but the words are harsh and biting, about a hostile relationship between two people. “Palm Meets Pine,” too, has an easy sound, but the title references the palm tree that sways and moves with the wind, as opposed to a pine tree, which is hard and rigid and unmoving. Such are relationships where one person uses and abuses the good nature of the other, who accepts the abuse and comes back for more. Broken hearts appear often on this album, including “Sewing the Heart,” a simple song with lyrics mostly consisting of a plea to “Sew my heart back up.” Thoughts of suicide sometimes creep into some of the songs, too, such as “Pixel Debris” and “Did You Get a Chance to Look at the Moon?” Both talk about selling off or throwing away all belongings. The former repeats over and over that “It’s time to say goodbye,” while the latter speaks of a hurting heart and “All my problems / Sorted out so soon” and “All my solutions / Are silky smooth.” I particularly love the flowing sound of “Pretty Boy,” with hints of Latin folk and lyrics about dueling self-images: the one we portray to the world and the one we feel inside. This album is filled with quiet desperation, seething pain below the easy-going surface.”