Drawing us in with raw and organic auxiliary percussion, expanding with a dimensional guitar soundscape, AJ Babcock opens Lazarus with a high emotional quotient as he shares the lyrics, “I don’t know what you need, I don’t know who we are sometimes, and I don’t know where we’re going, but we don’t got it going on…”
We are immediately captivated by the artist’s authenticity and the vulnerability that he shares with his poetic prowess. The glistening guitars and textured beat manifest as a cohesive tapestry of sound which grows more immersive with the choruses.
The existential themes come to life with the hook, “I’m coming back from the dead… for us, Lazarus…”. Speaking on the story behind the release, AJ says, “I have been in the music business for a long time, but it wasn’t until recently in my 40s that I felt a strong desire to do my own project, under my name, singing about my life. Lazarus is about the death of one version of me and the birth of a new version. I’m not religious but I used the biblical metaphor to get my point across. This song is about my partner and my daughter and how they changed me.”
We love the message of the track, it feels inspiring and cathartic at the same time – an ode to himself and his loved ones. It’s brave to take the step to launch oneself as an artist, and the way that Lazarus serves as an emotional confessional is rather brilliant artistry.
Fans of early Patrick Wolf would be able to connect with what AJ Babcock has created, and he also cites Bruce Springsteen, The Killers and Sam Fender as sonic inspirations for his sound. It is also abundantly clear that the decades that AJ Babcock has spent in bands have culminated in a high quality project with a cinematic allure.
We could imagine Lazarus being featured in a TV show like Nine Perfect Strangers, or a movie like One Battle After Another. He says, “I just want to make honest and authentic music. I’ve written a lot of songs over the years that people have sung, now I want to be the one singing them. I play music because I love it, not for the results. As a younger person I was really hung up on what people thought of my music or how popular it was. Now I just do it because I love the process of creating and performing.”
This level of self-realization often leads to the best artistry – unburdened by frustration and not chasing trends. Lazarus is the perfect representation of this. We have the song to our New Music Spotlight playlist and our TIMELESS playlist, whilst we anticipate future releases from the talented AJ Babcock.