Sean Lennon

Sean Ono Lennon made his debut as a force in the family business leading a trio called IMA, a band of grinding minimalist punks recruited by Yoko Ono for 1995's Rising, still one of her finest, hardest-rocking albums. Playing guitar behind his mother's apocalyptic-scientist howl, Lennon jammed together hard punk, funk, and urban attitude in a way that suggested a future career as Lou Reed. When Lennon reemerged with Into the Sun in 1998, he was ready to rock up and chill out, scanning pop, fuzz guitars, jazzy interludes, sugar and light. His reedy Lennon vocals (as strangely familiar as those of half-brother Julian) are dropped into an indie-rock context, this time relaxed and adrift, singing of spaceships and tainted love in NYC. The title song is a playful bossa-nova duet with girlfriend Yuka Honda of Cibo Matto. And "Home" matches punk riffing with Beatles-style pop at its most sweet and surreal, as Lennon sings, "Watching the shadows on the wall, having seen it all" (already echoing John's tranquil "Watching the Wheels Go Round"). Into the Sun is smart and self-indulgent in a gentle, genuine way, introducing Lennon not as a brand name, but as an artist. (STEVE APPLEFORD)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide