What if someone dropped the best album of the decade and no one bothered to listen? Related: did you ever check out Sean Lennon’s second album, Friendly Fire, released in 2006? How was this not on everyone’s iPod Mini? Track-for-track it’s as good as that first self-titled album by Crowded House, or Woodface, which was probably the House’s career high. I think it also compares nicely to the stuff the Lumineers are doing right now.
Some make much of Sean Lennon’s parentage, but I think when you put the needle down on the metaphorical disc, the conversation becomes moot. Either you like what you’re hearing or you don’t… and in this case, the quality of the craftsmanship is so exquisite, it seems to me that disliking Friendly Fire would require a perverse hatred of melody.
Ah well. In the music business, it’s common enough for fine work to slip through the cracks. I’m sorry I didn’t discover this album sooner, but I’m glad I came to it eventually, and I know now I’ll be listening to it all winter. Why don’t you hit up Spotify or Apple Music and give the Friendly Fire album a listen yourself. Like it? Tell a friend. This is how good work eventually gets its moment, don’t you think?
On a side note, I wish I knew about Lennon’s “Parachute” while I was writing “Aloft.” They go together like a single perfect cloud in a bright blue sky.