Celebrating
its 10th anniversary today is the sophomore LP from The Ghost of a
Sabre Tooth Tiger (GOASTT), Midnight Sun, which was released on April
28th, 2014. The band, fronted by "nepo-baby", Sean Ono Lennon, and his
girlfriend, Charlotte Kemp Muhl, took a sincere deep dive into the realm
of psychedelic acid rock and came out with what can only be described
as a completely legitimate monster of an album.
When
it comes to the children of certain celebrities, I've come to expect
very little in terms of actual talent, so before the release of this
album, Sean Lennon was completely off my radar as a serious artist.
Beatles kids were, in my experience, too deep in the shadows of their
iconic parents to ever stand on their own merits. But then one day, a
friend of mine insisted I watch the video for The GOASTT's single from
this album, Animals, and it sent me into a tailspin of ecstasy. Not
only was the music incredibly on point for the genre, but the video was
the best music video I'd seen since the 1990s, pulling in references
from some very obscure sources, like Kenneth Anger, Alejandro
Jodorowsky, Stan Brakhage and a variety of cult and occult culture from
the 1970s. It was a fucking TRIP, and it was enough to turn me into a
solid fan of the band, and later Sean's work in general.
There's
clearly no mistaking the echo of John Lennon's voice in Sean, but the
latter owns it and doesn't let that stop him from creating his own
distinct presence. Even his appearance is very much akin to his daddy's
long-haired hippy freak days, but again, not a problem, at least not
for me. The reason is simply because the music kicks ass. It's some of
the best psyche-rock I've ever encountered, vintage era or otherwise.
And I'm not overlooking his partner here as Charlotte is clearly an
accomplished player and performer, and also an amazing film maker to
boot, as can be clearly seen from the aforementioned video. She deftly
pays homage to the styles of Anger and Jodorowsky with meticulous
attention to detail, giving the video an uncanny sense of authenticity.
If you're in need of a fix of
some absolutely bang-on acid rock, this album unabashedly delivers the
goods from start to finish. I'd certainly rank it as one of the
essential listens of the genre. It's just a shame that this project
hasn't really been back in the studio since this was released, albeit
Lennon has certainly been busy with a plethora of other projects of
similar merit.
