"Who Are You", by Lis Faust
Genre: Pop-Folk / Acoustic
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Lis Faust's "Who Are You" is a little rough around the edges in many ways. While the melodies and the movements are strong, and the lyrics themselves in this song are honest and emotional, many aspects of this single reflect someone obviously still working on both their vocal and musical proficiency. In short, it sounds like Lis is still working out the rough parts.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:
26 year old Lis Faust, a singer/songwriter out of New Jersey, left college in 2001 to fully pursue her music career. Teaming up with local band Five Points, Lis toured the tri-state area (that is, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) for nearly three years before the band decidedly broke up in 2004. Recently beginning her career as a solo artist, Lis is currently recording her newest LP with bass player/guitarist/pianist/accordionist and ex-bandmate Adam Storm.

ABOUT THE SONG:
"Who Are You" is a very simple song with very little instrumentation -- and that works for this piece. What we hear are Lis' distinctive vocals and finger picked guitar; telling the story of an old flame and ex love showing up years later and stirring up old emotions, causing doubts and confusion and throwing a wrench in the current relationship. In "Who Are You", Lis paints a story I think most of us can probably all relate to. Thick with a naked truth, the song slowly builds and is joined by a softly played accordion during the choruses. (A great production choice, by the way.) Aside from these movements and changes, the song's dynamic doesn't really pick up much ... at the same time, it really doesn't have to. The simplicity of this song, I feel, works -- especially for the length of the piece -- and the slowly reached crescendos with the accord ian are a wonderful touch. The lyrics are stirring and easy to follow; Lis' honesty in this song shine through with a touching story that's hard not to emotionally touch base with.

ON THE DOWNSIDE:
As I mentioned before, there are definitely parts of this performance that are a bit shaky; detracting from what would be an even harder-hitting piece of music. Lis' guitar work in this song isn't really up to par with the song -- or, rather, what the song could be. It didn't come off as stylistic to me (think Liz Phair before she used hair spray); just needing some work in some areas. As I mentioned before it doesn't sound like Lis has carried her songs on her own for too long, and it definitely reflects in the performance in my opinion. This is also true about the vocals at points; while Lis' voice is both soothing and sensitive, and does a great job of carrying the reflective nature of the lyrics -- instead of being edgy and moving, the fluctuations come off more as vocally unstable. Something often heard with relatively new musicians. The vocals carry an anxiety that plays a bit much in the music. Also, as much as I love good home or small studio recordings, I'd also personally like to hear this song played out in a larger studio.

STRONG POINTS:
Now, that aside, "Who Are You" has a great hook and a great build; one that doesn't smack of a new musician whatsoever. Performance aside, the raw emotion and lyrical story of this song shine through amazingly, making me think that -- with some more work crafting out the details -- Lis Faust's "Who Are You" is a silent masterpiece in many ways. Listening to several other of Lis' songs, this is obviously not something you only find with this song (both with the good and the bad points). Lis' ability to write a hook and create interesting musical movements and catchy vocal melodies resonate an expressive maturity mixed with a raw introversion rarely found in a lot of newer singer songwriters.

THE CONCLUSION?:
Though unsteady at points, "Who Are You", for it's rich imagery and sensual melodies, comes recommended for fans of good indie or lo-fi pop folk and the romantic singer songwriter movements; you can download this and several other of Lis' songs at her SonicGarden page, or at Lis' website.

Julian Rai
BandFreaks Staff Reviewer