Sean Lennon
Friendly fire

I read an interview a long time ago with Sean Lennon by Austin Scaggs, who introduces him as an exceptional and versatile musician, having had the chance to see him perform live. A true demigod. I believed his words and still do, even after listening to this album. So, driven by curiosity, Scaggs’ words, and some fantastic reviews read elsewhere, I decided to listen to his new work.

I haven't had the opportunity to know Sean Lennon's debut, that “Into the sun” which gave critics a lot to talk about. Not that it was an album destined to change contemporary music, but because he was the son of an institution. Be careful, I don't want to emphasize exclusively the noble lineage of the subject in question, but carrying such a surname is more of a psychological "weight," as many children of famous parents claim, than a condemnation—it’s a great help. And Sean definitely takes advantage of this help. For the recording of "Friendly fire," he brought into the studio highly esteemed artists like Vincent Gallo, Harper Simon, Yuka Honda, Matt Chamberlin, Athena Legrand, Yoko Ono (imagine that). He draws inspiration from the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds," "Double Fantasy," Ryan Adams, and the complete Beatles discography. So, how much of him is in this record? Not much.

Well, the album stems from a sad autobiographical experience, namely the breakup of his engagement with actress Bijou (Bijou!) Phillips, caused by her infidelity with his best friend, Max Leroy, who died a year before the release of “Friendly fire” and to whom it is dedicated. "The title refers to being betrayed by people on your own team," Sean states, fully intending to highlight the intimate character of the new work, as the lyrics testify. Moreover, there is his vaguely whiny and monotonous voice, which manages to convey his personality to the album. The rest is quite well done (eight years of waiting for this "Friendly fire" certainly could not result in a flop), yet still marred by the overall flatness of the CD, which doesn't encourage listening but rather sometimes bores, and at others leaves you indifferent. It's only fair to cut some slack by saying that it retains some interesting points that save it at the last moment.

The first track is “Dead meat,” a ballad that opens with a music box interspersed with piano and proceeds with a progression of acoustic guitars and strings on which Sean's lilting voice gently rests, and it's not bad at all. The guitar in "Wait for me" already starts to annoy with those constant references to his dad's band, which you also find in “Parachute,” where the personal romantic experience of Lennon becomes evident (Cut the parachute bifore the dive/ Baby don't you cry/ you have to bting me down/ We had some fun bifore we hit the ground...), "Tomorrow", "Headlights". However, a special mention goes to "Friendly fire," the track that gives the album its title, with its sweet arpeggios, calm and solemn progression, and splendid lyrics. The same arpeggios, a faster yet equally solemn progression, and splendid lyrics also appear in “Spectacle,” where Lennon places Phillips in the background vocals. In conclusion, there's “Would I be the one,” a cover of Marc Bolan, and the powerful instrumental support of guitars and strings that has dominated throughout the listening session disappears, leaving some room for a presentation that borders on psychedelia.

Let's sum up. “Friendly fire” is not a revolutionary album and doesn’t say anything new compared to what has already been said in the past. Moreover, within the same pop arena, you can find better, but to dismiss this album without consideration could be a grave mistake, as stated earlier. Personally, I expect more next time because Sean Lennon is not at all stupid, as he has demonstrated with this work, which unfortunately loses much perhaps due to the fear of overstepping. I add that the CD comes with a DVD featuring short films directed by Michele Civetta.