Sean Lennon Writing 'Imaginative' Songs With His Girlfriend

Posted on Nov 27th 2009 1:00PM by Mike Ayers
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Sean Lennon struck a chord with his 2006 solo record, 'Friendly Fire,' a somewhat out-of nowhere breakup album that had a touch of orchestral pop lined through the gut-punching sentiments on songs such as 'Dead Meat,' 'Wait For Me,' and 'Spectacle.' While it makes sense that his voice would sound reminiscent of his father's, the younger Lennon demonstrated that he too knows a thing about constructing a bittersweet pop melody. While we might be due for a follow-up next year, for the moment he's having too much fun with his current band, The Ghost of the Saber Tooth Tiger.

"I tend to take my time with my solo records," Lennon tells Spinner. "I only did two obviously, and people think I'm sitting around doing nothing in between but that's not the case. I'm not one of those artists that just does one thing. For me, the solo thing is one hat that I wear. It's very personal and intense to do it, very lonely."

Lennon describes the protagonist in 'Friendly Fire' a "character," and the next one would follow that guy's same line of thinking. But he's more excited about the chance to get experimental without the constraints of any major label obligations. "I think my music is going to be more progressive, which is what my instincts always were," he says. "The record company would be like 'What's this 15-minute instrumental in the middle of your record?' But now, I'm going to treat my records like a sound-movie and allow myself to experiment as much as I can. That's what I enjoy anyway. I'm not trying to satisfy any commercial standards."

That said, we should be hearing from Lennon's Ghost project rather soon. The core of the group is Lennon and his girlfriend/bandmate Charlotte Kemp Muhl. "I'm having more fun being in a band now," he says. "I tend not to be autobiographical in this band. I'm writing with my girlfriend and we come up with these crazy stories that are sort of more imaginative for me than my solo stuff, which is always talking about my perspective. It's been fun, actually. I actually feel what I'm doing with the band is the greatest thing I've ever done. Not that I've done anything that great, but for me personally, I'm happy about it."