The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger is Sean Lennon's psychedelic rock project with Charlotte Kemp Muhl. If you read that right, it means you already have some preconceived notions about what this band and their latest album should sound like. It's the curse of the Lennon name; Sean Lennon releases will forever carry the weight of some perceived duty to continue John Lennon's legacy.
For an artist clearly trying to pave his own way free of that weight, it must be hard on Lennon. Luckily, Midnight Sun—The GOASTT's latest album—manages to reach out from under the clouds of Rubber Soul and Imagine and stand on its own. It's not a perfect collection of songs, but there's enough psychedelic flare and flashbacks to make it a worthwhile listen.
The GOASTT has an edge that many of their fellow psych-rockers don't: a female singer. Muhl's floating voice adds a fitting contrast to Lennon's low-registered growls, especially on tracks like the indie pop “Devil You Know,” where the duo trade off lead vocals with one another. Muhl's voice can be more subtle at times, lightly embellishing songs to give their codas a sort of haunting fade out.
Midnight Sun is going to draw admittedly relevant Beatles comparisons, with the Revolver-like lushness of songs like “Animals” and “Poor Paul Getty"'s callback to The White Album's more playful moments, but The GOASTT adds more to the mix than simple '60s callbacks. There's flashes of drone (“Too Deep”) and soaring prog jams (“Last Call”) that meld together with haunting, Syd Barrett-like mysticism in many of the songs.
Midnight Sun isn't flawless, though. “Don't Look Back Orpheus” is a literal retelling of the Greek myth, and does little to make the tale as engaging. A few songs, like Muhl-led “Johannesburg,” plow through unimaginative musical breakdowns disguised as inventive with their brief instrumental flourishes. It's length doesn't help, either; enjoyable songs like “Xanadu” are lost within an album that, at times, feels more like an ordeal.
The GOASTT's sophomore album Midnight Sun is a competent psychedelic rock album that can stand on its own. While it garners Beatles comparisons, these are born more from their influence on the genre rather than a Lennon legacy. Lennon and Muhl's album gleams as a unique take on psychedelia, one that can only be defined when you look beyond the colossal weight of the Lennon name.
Rating: B
