Music Review: Lions

William Fitzsimmons
3/5 stars

On “Lions,” William Fitzsimmons showcases the same bittersweet sentimentality that has earned him airtime on tearjerkers from “Grey’s Anatomy” to “One Tree Hill.” Throughout the album, Fitzsimmons’s smooth, airy voice blows over his subtle, downtempo fingerpicking. Although he adds more instrumentation than heard in previous works, this album is still largely Will and his guitar.

Born to two blind parents, Fitzsimmons grew up in a deeply musical environment. He learned a multitude of instruments, and his music is somewhere between his father’s classical organ and his mother’s folk. While going through graduate school and earning a living as a mental health therapist, he debuted his first album “Until When We are Ghosts.” The entire record was produced with his own home recording equipment. Much of Fitzsimmons’s music is about personal tragedy, like divorce, and he finds songwriting a deeply therapeutic process.

Musically, Fitzsimmons’s fingerpicking style is the most engaging part of the album. He rises through beautiful chords and adds enough embellishment to keep tracks interesting. Although Fitzsimmons usually keeps the same pattern throughout each song, this style is effective at conveying the hopeless sense of despair he seems to feel throughout.

The album starts with the acoustic fingerpicking and vocals pairing that Fitzsimmons is known for, with some sparsely added synthesizer. A marked change comes in 'Took' though, as drums combine with muted guitar to add an uptempo feel. Fitzsimmons continues this elaboration throughout the album by adding piano, strings and electric leads to lend a driving sentimentality to his acoustic and a bit of angst to his soft rock adult contemporary style.

Lyrically, the album is typical. Fitzsimmons sings about love and heartbreak in smooth gentle tones. He opens 'Centralia' by admitting “I offer myself to you / Though I am a broken thing / A cardinal with severed wing.” Topically, the lyrics are nothing special, but it’s impressive that Fitzsimmons can sing about such a simple subject without sounding awkward or contrived. Still, those who appreciate artistically original lyrics should probably look elsewhere.

Fitzsimmons’s brand of folk shows a marked departure from the traditional politically active guitar slingers of the past. Like the original singer-songwriters, though, Fitzsimmons shows a passion for and a belief in his writing. It’s obvious his music gives him peace from past troubles, and he just wants to share that with others.