Local Artist Profile: St. Lazarus
Pacific Northwest singer/rapper is manifesting his own growth, with the help of glorious mixing, courtesy of Jared Squires.
Saint Lazarus, according to biblical studies, rose from the dead. Jesus procrastinated healing his illness and showed up fashionably late (that’s actually what happened). By the time he got to Lazarus, he was already 4 days in the tomb. Jesus didn’t sweat it though, he’s literally God. Lazarus walked out of the tomb, forever thankful, and Jesus told the gathered crowd to “believe him”.
Isaiah Henderson, aka St. Lazarus, age 23, not canonized, wants you to believe in him. A man who wants everyone to know that God blessed him with the gift of life, and much more. Let me be perfectly clear. St. Lazarus is not a “Christian artist”; overt bible-thumbing is not his style, and I doubt it ever will be. Instead, the Seattle-based talent demonstrates his blessings through relatable music, delivered with universal sincerity, and reasonable confidence.
LAZARUS Mini-Review
Before I talk about St. Lazarus’s latest work, I would like to give some brief thoughts on his first project, LAZARUS. A short EP, this project is mostly a display of technical skill. Lazzo’s flow is smooth, with a booming voice. His singing voice is buttery, with a versatile sense of melody. It's obvious that he is a film enthusiast, considering the multitude of clever movie metaphors.
The musical inspirations are sometimes obvious. The Kanye worship is heavy; the 808s style fusions of R&B, pop, and trap are tasteful, despite not being 100% original.
LAZARUS is elevated by spectacular mixing; it’s probably the biggest highlight. Jared Squires, local PNW producer and lifelong friend of Lazzo, handles all the engineering. St. Lazarus provides a solid base with his DAW generated beats. Jared takes Lazzo’s foundation and builds up to the sky; every drumbeat, every bassline, every individual soundbite is meticulously placed, with an expert sense of atmosphere. The audio panning on this project is straight up gorgeous and prevents stagnation. It’s great to see an artist with an ear for mixing, one of the most underappreciated aspects of music-making.
Unfortunately, content-wise, LAZARUS leaves the listener wanting. After 22 minutes, we barely get to know the artist. LAZARUS has a Drake structure: glossy hip-hop beat, plenty of nerdy punchlines, unspecified heartbreak, and confident posturing with little reasoning behind it. As stated before, it’s really just a display of technical ability, sort of like an athlete’s recruitment film.
However, the basic foundations of a rising artist are concrete.
saint preview pack review
Lazzo is aware of R&B’s creative limitations. The R&B market is oversaturated. It’s easy to fall victim to genericism.
In his own words: “Singing has always been a part of what I do and has been something I’ve legitimately pursued. Choir and jazz choir in [highschool], state competition both in group and solo levels. So singing has always been a big thing for me. The initial idea was to do an R&B album, but as I got into that I felt like I was just producing something we already get with artists like 6lack, Drake, or Bryson Tiller. There’s enough of that in the landscape. I didn’t want to just be another guy doing that. Plus, I didn’t feel like it worked to my sensibilities as a writer as well. ”
Since LAZARUS, Isaiah underwent some life changes; he’s become a father, is engaged, and now owns a home. Unsurprisingly, these events resulted in a few delays, music-wise. But, these events have been crucial in directing his artistic vision.
In his own words: “This new album is coming from the perspective of a new Dad, someone who is getting married soon, trying to get my life together and be happy, but also trying to, in a sense, fulfill happiness in others. So the space in between was [definately] necessary. Additionally, the best tracks came from the period after the final delay in March of this year”.
Lazzo takes his time, but more importantly, he lets time take him. His dedication is paramount but he works without deadline pressure. St. Lazarus simply put, has a quality over quantity mindset.
In his own words: “[The album] slowly morphed from R&B, into dream pop, into what I now call an “alternative pop album”. But the direction change was a process. Not exaggerating, I’ve made 30–40 beats for this project. And[Saint] is gonna end up at 7–10 songs total.”
The work has absolutely paid off. Saint, the album, has not arrived yet. The preview pack is to keep his small, but dedicated fanbase hyped. A quick 10 minutes of music…and its fucking good. The two tracks featured are far superior to any song on LAZARUS.
“Hurricane” starts with these syrupy, wobbling bass notes. An assortment of drum kicks and hi-hats burst in with vibrant energy. Once again, the mixing is absolutely stunning, creating an immersive experience. St. Lazarus sings with a despondent moodiness, with the help of Travis Scott-style autotune (except with some lyrical skill). The track ends with a somber conga drum, ushering the listener away. St. Lazarus claims that it took 1,000 hours to perfect this track. I believe him.
“Happy Ending” reveals St. Lazarus’s soft side. The lyrics aren’t exactly hard-hitting on their own, but the desperate, insecure tone is emotionally captivating. Jared Squires shines through once again. The grand piano keys exaggerate the track’s somber tone, while the high-hats provide speed and energy. I keep stanning the mixing, but it’s really that spectacular, especially for a homegrown album.
Both of these songs are fantastic. I am beyond excited for the full project because both artists are improving at their own pace, and their pace is fast.
St. Lazarus has a new life, and he’s happy to let us see it.
