Falling Out of Love

I remember back in 1998, I was on college radio (WSGR-FM) and fervently following everything that went on with Grand Royal Records. Not just because I was a Beastie Boys fan, but also because those guys had good ears. The label didn't last, and I don't know if it was just poor business decisions or what, but almost everything they put out had lots of promise. One of those acts was Sean Lennon. Yes, that Lennon. His first solo album, "Into the Sun" was kind of a freeform audio pastiche. There was lots going on with electronic elements, guest artists, experimentation, and varied instrumentation. But the underlying current was still good pop music.

So, eight years later, he's finally releasing a new album. This time he's on Capitol Records, and the title is "Friendly Fire." It comes out on October 3rd.

In the time between the first and second albums, he contributed to lots of good releases with lots of talented people like his mom (Yoko Ono), Money Mark, Deltron 3030, Cibo Matto, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Thurston Moore, Ryan Adams, The Boredoms, et al. But he kept it on the down low. Now he feels that he's ready to attack the record label machinery yet again with a high profile release.

As before, there are guest artists here like drummer Matt Chamberlain (Pearl Jam, Tori Amos), Yuka Honda (Cibo Matto), and Bijou Phillips, among others. Lennon has also produced a short film for each of the album’s tracks, directed by Michele Civetta. The fantastical shorts, which together comprise a conceptual film about betrayal and the failure of love, feature appearances from Lennon and friends including Lindsay Lohan, Bijou Phillips, Asia Argento, Carrie Fisher, Devon Aoki, Jordana Brewster and others.

I have to admit that as much as I loved Lennon's first album, the experimentation and slight lack of focus got on my nerves after awhile. It's kind of like listening to something from the Japanese noise/pop genius Cornelius...you can tell it's really good, and sometimes you might like listening to it, but it's all about the small doses. Too much of a good thing, maybe? I don't know.

Okay, so check out this track from Lennon's new album. It's called "Dead Meat." Then go check out the trailer for the conceptual film meant to accompany the album. As you can tell by that single, Lennon has toned down the experimentation a bit and focused more on songwriting and texture. It's refreshing to hear him this way, because his talent becomes clearer.