Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger
Album Title: Midnight Sun
Record Label: Chimera Music
Review by Sal Serio
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The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger - Midnight Sun
The latest release by The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger (Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl) continues the metamorphosis from stripped-down folk into the realm of more lush and experimental pop music. It’s a bit funny to take the stand that Lennon’s music will purely stand on it’s own without any comparison to the work of his famous parents, since straight out of the gate, on the opening track “Too Deep”, one immediately hears a similarity to his father’s vocals circa 1967, and towards the end of the disc, on “Don’t Look Back Orpheus”, it sounds like a stroll down ‘Abbey Road’.
Generally though, the music has heaping spoonfuls of Brit-pop influenced psychedelia stirred in to concise guitar-driven compositions. Occasionally (“Devil You Know”) the overall sound mix is so dense and layered that the individual components of the songs suffer as a result, which is a shame, since the guitar work is especially impressive.
Floyd comparisons crop up, such as the “Comfortably Numb” meets “Echoes” guitar solo on “Last Call”, and the Syd Barrett-like reverb-drenched vocal bridge on “Great Expectations” (not to mention it’s stratospheric guitar outro). Yoko’s presence is felt on “Johannesburg” when Charlotte’s breathy and ethereal vocal meets a heavily echoed instrumental section punctuated by incidental background squeaks and moans.
In summary, ‘Midnight Sun’ is a trippy yet pleasant listening experience, showcasing an obviously ambitious project that succeeds on almost every level. Which, should make for quite the happening concert when G.O.A.S.T.T. comes to the High Noon Saloon, in Madison, on May 31st.
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