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Friendly Fire has the same feel as Into the Sun: namely, it's a pleasant but forgettable arty pop record made by a guy who has some promise but little discipline.
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67Humble and resigned to a fault.
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40He's not so much turning into his father... as his wimpy half-brother Julian. [Nov 2006, p.143]
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80A 10-track masterclass in spectral, psychedelicised pop, it's awash with great tunes and soaring arrangements. [Nov 2006, p.117]
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80Sean Lennon continues to impress. [Nov 2006, p.104]
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An album of angry, guilty, sad -- and often stunningly pretty -- songs. [5 Oct 2006, p.68]
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Friendly Fire's real problem is that Lennon keeps coming up with airy melodies that recall his father's work, only they don't really sound like John anymore, they sound like Elliott Smith.
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60Though not blessed with the strength of his father's voice, he makes the most of Dad's knack for pretty melody. [Nov 2006, p.102]
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A bittersweet second album of gentle strumming and washed-out summer sun. [30 Sep 2006, p.37]
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It is lush, not airy like its predecessor, and while the songs on their surface remain light, they retain a certain musical heft that keeps the album grounded. [#15]
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Fire passes in an enchanting sort of basement-cabaret haze, all pretty melodies and haunting orchestral arrangements. [3 Nov 2006, p.78]
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Friendly Fire is better than anyone could have predicted.
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70A collection of gentle, sun-kissed pop guaranteed to be easy on the ears.
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Lennon isn’t attempting to re-invent the wheel with Friendly Fire; he’s just writing a narrative using thoroughly enjoyable pop melodies.
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60The melodies are well-shaped and the lyrics twist their knives elegantly. [Dec 2006, p.174]
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90Musically and lyrically the album is thoughtful and mature.
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The melodies and production are top-notch, even if, lyrically, the album’s motifs barely move from sullen dismay to cheery dismay.
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92A patient, assured album where nearly every sound feels appropriate. [#22, p.93]
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With Friendly Fire, we get a number of concepts and stabs at self-aware dynamics, but we mostly just see the over-privileged slacker.
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At first it seems fairly plain, built around Lennon's thin voice (friendly, if lacking fire)....Yet there's more to the album, most explicitly in the spiked words -- troubled, uncertain, seeking security in an impermanent world. [24 Sep 2006]
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80Instead of avoiding the comparisons, Sean Lennon succeeds by reveling in the kind of pop that runs through his family's genes. [Oct 2006, p.124]
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The moments where Lennon lays himself most bare... reveal there's still a gulf between his own pop and his father's universal sound.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 18 out of 20
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Mixed: 1 out of 20
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Negative: 1 out of 20
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MarkK9Great album. Light and melodic, nice and melancholic. Just pleasant to hear it on sunday morning.
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8
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10