Lawrence, the NYC soul-pop outfit fronted by the brother-sister pair Clyde and Gracie Lawrence, has released its fourth studio album, Family Business, via Jon Bellion‘s Beautiful Mind Records.
Featuring four recently released singles—“i’m confident that i’m insecure,” “23,” “Guy I Used To Be”, and “Family Business”—the new LP showcases a band making pop music the way they feel it ought to be made: with self-arranged, live instrumentation that balances high-level “musician’s music” and easily accessible, energetic songwriting.
More than a family band making it big, Lawrence is a proud DIY organization comprised of eight longtime friends-turned-entrepreneurs managing their own tours, running their own merch business, engineering their own sound, staging their own headline tours, and even taking their own stands against monopolistic music business practices on Senate floor. For them, Family Business is more than an album title, more than a cheeky nod to the blood relation at the band’s core—it’s a celebration of the collective blood, sweat, tears, talent, and vision that has allowed them to get to this point.
On Family Business—co-produced by Jon Bellion alongside the band’s perennial in-house production team of Clyde Lawrence (keys, vocals), Jordan Cohen (tenor sax), and Jonny Koh (guitar)—there are songs that directly explore Lawrence’s DIY ethos and their feelings about growing up together as a creative family. Alongside the business-themed “Promotion” and “Circle Back”, “Hip Replacement” asserts self-confidence in the face of hype-driven Hollywood, “Death of Me” deals with the sobering realities of burnout, and “Do” tackles the challenge of trusting your instincts when everyone else seems to be moving in the opposite direction.
The familial atmosphere of the record was on display on Thursday night when the band headed to New York, NY’s intimate DROM to celebrate the album’s release with a gathering of family, friends, collaborators, and longtime fans. With the room decorated by retro office props, custom motivational posters, and corporate charts (like one showing the inverse relationships between “tasty horn licks”/”uncoordinated dance moves” and “giving a f—”), the band members mingled, reflected on the stories behind the songs, and lobbed playfully sarcastic banter back and forth as they worked through acoustic(ish) takes on various tracks—and welcomed their whole acoustic-ish family to the stage to join in.
[Photo: Andrew O’Brien – Lawrence Family Business album release party, DROM NYC, 6/20/24]
Prior to the performance, Jon Bellion offered a few words about his steadfast belief in what Lawrence does. “About four years ago,” he explained, “I started going all over the place and [saying] in these meetings, ‘Listen, I have this band they’er the f—ing future, they’re incredible.’ I was obsessed with them. … Over and over and over again I would play the music, show pictures of them on their Instagram, and every single idiot behind a desk would be like, ‘Oh, you know, where’s the sexy? Where’s the thing? They’re just people that are really good at playing great music.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I f—ing know, that’s the whole thing.’ I see a couple faces in here that I’ve taken some of those friggin meetings with—very convenient to see you all at the Lawrence show tonight.”
“Through deaths in the family and children being born and these guys knowing my actual family, my children, my wife, what it really means to be a family business…” he added, visibly moved by the moment, “I am the most blessed label owner in the entire world to be able to support these people and this band tonight. The music is ridiculous. I’m so excited to get to share it with you guys.”
Family Business, the fourth studio album from Lawrence, is now available on major streaming platforms. Listen via the Spotify player below.
Lawrence – Family Business – Full Album
Lawrence will take the Family Business on the road this year for its biggest-ever headline tour, which includes Radio City Music Hall (low ticket warning) and a sold-out Wiltern in Los Angeles. It marks the group’s first tour since opening 60+ dates for The Jonas Brothers in 2023. The group also recently opened for The Rolling Stones in front of a crowd of more than 80,000 at MetLife Stadium.
Click below for a complete list of upcoming Lawrence Family Business Tour dates. For ticketing information, head here.
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