Midnight Sun

Following the chamber-folk elegance of The Acoustic Sessions and the quirky, Tropicalia-tinged La Carotte Bleue, Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl expand their approach on the visceral, rock-oriented Midnight Sun without simplifying anything. They take the serpentine melodies and sophisticated song structures they'd already established as their signature and frame them with a mixture of mind-bending, '60s-flavored psychedelia, epic '70s art rock, and something timeless and indefinable that places the blend solidly in the present day. The album introduces itself with the burly guitar riffs, edge-of-madness keyboards, and otherworldly vocals of "Too Deep" before segueing into the even trippier "Xanadu," as Lennon and Muhl's voices weave into and around each other. Lennon's well-known love for obscure psych records makes it likely that the cover of '40s tune "Golden Earrings" was inspired by a version by the '60s band Gandalf. A psychedelic vibe runs throughout the album, but Midnight Sun still shines with a fresh kind of light.