Sean Lennon Friendly Fire CD

On his second album--released eight years after the well received INTO THE SUN--Sean Lennon displays a talent for memorable tunes and varied arrangements that create a surprising amount of momentum despite the overall mid-tempo mellowness. Moods shift gently from the unhurried, synth-driven "Parachute" (which echoes Radiohead) to the ragged folk-rock of "Headlights," with its killer off-kilter chord progression, to the haunting "Spectacle," which makes surprisingly subtle use of a string section and Hammond organ. In the eight years between albums, Lennon's voice matured into an expressive instrument capable of nuanced crooning as well as more straight-ahead piano-pop balladry. His songcraft also shows a leap in sophistication, as demonstrated on "Friendly Fire," whose compelling, ascendant melody gives way to a powerful full-band chorus. The second disc of the set contains videos for each song on the album, rendered with as much sensitivity and creativity as the music.

This CD/DVD set includes a cinematic suite of songs which share the same dizzying wealth of musical styles as its predecessor Friendly Fire, but eschews some of its freeform tendencies for more traditional song structure and some unifying themes. The DVD includes a short film for each of the album's tracks, directed by Michele Civetta. The fantastical shorts feature appearances from Lennon and friends including Lindsay Lohan, Bijou Phillips, Asia Argento, Carrie Fisher, Devon Aoki, Jordana Brewster, and others.

Illustrator: Sean Lennon.

Personnel: Sean Lennon (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards, drums); Sean Lennon (bass guitar); Josh Brion (guitar, organ, bass guitar, drums); Jon Brion (guitar, organ, drums); Yuka Honda (piano, keyboards, bass guitar); Greg Kirstin (organ); Sebastian Steinberg (bass guitar); Athena LeGrand (background vocals); Harper Simon (guitar); Jim Keltner, Matt Chamberlain (drums); Bijou Phillips (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Tom Biller.

Rolling Stone (p.68) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "His viola-toned voice, with its patient, Brazilian-like delivery, is sweet and distinctive."
Rolling Stone (p.108) - Ranked #41 in Rolling Stone's "The Top 50 Albums Of 2006" -- "Sean's boyish, nasally voice is a near-spittin' image of his dad's RUBBER SOUL-ballad croon."
Spin (p.102) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[A] nicely textured album of wistful waltzes, rainy-day ballads, and pinwheel pop tunes."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.104) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[The album] comes on like a more lovelorn REVOLVER, its carefully crafted songs packing stately strings, Ringo-esque drum fills and a melodic potency and chordal know-how that requires little embellishment."