Release consistency, a relaxed memory consistency model that reduces the impact of remote memory access latency in both software and hardware distributed shared memory, is considered. To reduce the number of messages and the amount of data exchanged for remote memory access, a lazy release consistency algorithm is introduced. It pulls modifications across the interconnect only when necessary. Trace-driven simulation using the SPLASH benchmarks indicates that lazy release consistency reduces both the number of messages and the amount of data transferred between processors. These reductions are especially significant for programs that exhibit false sharing and make extensive use of locks.