Innerstanding is only Dhani Harrison’s second solo album. His first was In Parallel released in 2017. He was also involved in the one-off album As I Call You Down in 2010 as part of Fistful of Mercy, a group that included Ben Harper and Joseph Arthur. Additionally, he recorded three albums and two EPs as part of the group Thenewno2. He is very involved as well with his mother Olivia in curating his father George’s estate, which has recently included the revival of the Dark Horse record label.
This new album is definitely in step musically with his previous solo album and some of the music he recorded as part of Thenewno2. While those group albums had a bit more guitar and his first solo album had more psychedelic moments, this album focuses more on the electronic side of his music. While this release only has slight tinges of psychedelia on some tracks, there are lots of spacey moments such as “Ahoy There,” “La Sirena,” and “Right Side of History.”
Some of the folks who contributed to Dhani’s first solo album return, including Mereki on vocals on “The Dancing Tree” and “Wolves Around the City,” and another guest is Graham Coxson of Blur on “New Religion.” For anyone looking for a little Beatle-esque influence, “Damn That Frequency” has some brief moments of the kind of psychedelic strings heard on the Sgt. Pepper/Magical Mystery Tour era Beatles albums.
Other more discernible musical influences are during the spacier moments when slight touches of Radiohead and maybe even Pink Floyd sounds are heard, bringing to mind Roger Waters’ recent music or The Orb and David Gilmour. Much like his father, Dhani is not just exploring music here, but is on some sort of spiritual quest that deepens the music.
The ten tracks are spread over two vinyl albums and the records are packaged in a gatefold jacket with a beautiful color 20-page booklet. The two vinyl discs are pressed on neon yellow vinyl and overall, the sound quality is excellent.
It’s wonderful to see several of the children of The Beatles making music on their own terms. Zak Starkey is the drummer for The Who and was also the drummer for Oasis. Sean Lennon has his group Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger with Charlotte Kemp Muhl, who together have created a handful of albums with a heady mix of enticing and exotic sounds.
Sean also had a band with Les Claypool from Primus, The Claypool Lennon Delirium. James McCartney, Paul’s son, has made some timeless singer-songwriter albums that are criminally underrated. And of course, Julian Lennon had some success many years ago and has some new music on the horizon.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
B
