Chris Lanzon stands on a cliff in Flinders, Victoria, far from his Sydney home, feeling on top of the world. “It’s almost at the bottom of Australia,” he says, “and it’s beautifully vast. I love the rolling coastline, where long grass meets cliffs that drop straight into the ocean.”
This rugged landscape felt like the ideal setting for his new EP, Angel Litany – raw, grounded, and caught between land, sea, and emotion.
“I’m always writing from wherever I am as a way to process things,” Lanzon tells Rolling Stone AU/NZ over Zoom, back at home with the morning sun streaming on his deck. With Angel Litany about to drop – its cover fittingly showing him alone against a sweeping ocean view – he reflects on the project’s themes.
“At this point in my life, I want to be present and really soak up the moment. A lot of these songs capture that feeling. But there’s also this back and forth—these conflicting emotions of wanting to enjoy every moment while battling doubts and overthinking. You can definitely hear that struggle in the music.”
On Angel Litany, Lanzon explores new horizons with six emotive, delicately crafted tracks that refine his introspective indie-folk style. At 24, he’s maturing, expressing his love and confronting his flaws with a minimalist “less is more” approach.
His Melancholy EP trilogy (2020-2023) was an assured solo debut, but now Lanzon is “unlearning.”
He began young – at 13 on The Voice Kids and later as a member of the boyband In Stereo (2015-2018), where he had ARIA-charting hits like “Girlfriend” and “Good Enough” – but felt disillusioned. “I was living a completely inauthentic self,” he told NME last year. “I didn’t really feel like there was any sort of substance there that felt true to who I was.”
Looking back now, he’s learned a lot. “It feels like I’ve been doing this my whole life, but at the same time, I’m constantly learning. I hope that never stops.”
The EP’s title track was a breakthrough, written during a trip to LA where Lanzon collaborated with artists like Harmony (ex-Girlpool member Harmony Tividad) and alt-emo star Deb Never. “It was a special time,” he says fondly. “I was just opening up a lot more, both as a human and as a writer.”
The title track unravels the bittersweet feeling of unconditional love, with Lanzon’s and Harmony’s warm vocals blending into a soaring crescendo.
“We got super weird with the lyrics. In the past, I’d write very literally and confessional. This song does that too, but in a more poetic and slightly uncomfortable way. There were moments when I was like, ‘Can I even say that?’”
Themes of the universe and things falling into place have long been on Lanzon’s mind.
“There was a time when I’d see angel numbers everywhere, like on car plates. I kept asking, ‘What does this mean?’”
“That song, ‘777,’ is an ode to my partner, who’s been such a beautiful presence in my life. Her angel number is 777, so it’s a nod to her and to this energy beyond me that I’ve been trying to notice more.”
“777” was recorded in just one take – vocals and guitar together – a method Lanzon wants to embrace more. “It’s a new approach I want to carry forward. Just capturing things as raw as possible, instead of layering and over-perfecting.”
Lanzon crafted the EP’s lush, unhurried production, bringing in violinist and friend James Tarbottom for added depth. “I wanted to avoid electronic sounds and ground it with something organic. James improvised over the tracks, and it added so much. It feels earthy and a bit cinematic.”
He’s bringing this natural approach to the stage too, with headline shows in Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne coming this October to celebrate Angel Litany. After touring with Sam Fischer and Blake Rose across Australia earlier this year, 2024 has been Lanzon’s first proper chance to perform since going solo. He’s currently putting together a new band for the occasion.
“I’m learning more and more that recording isn’t everything. Sometimes it feels like once the song’s recorded and on Spotify, that’s the peak. But bringing it to life in a real setting is where the real magic happens.”
Above all, Lanzon wants to keep things spontaneous.“Live music should be its own thing – that’s the goal anyway. We’ll see how it goes.”
Chris Lanzon’s Angel Litany EP is out now. See all his upcoming tour dates here.
