Pitchfork

While similar tastes and inclinations often transfer from one generation to the next, the passage of actual talent from parent to progeny is far from a guaranteed thing. While a famous last name can at least help you fake it, Julian Lennon sure ain't living off royalties from "Valotte".

Crowded House's Neil Finn is another musician living off the legacy of Lennon, albeit more indirectly. But as the frontman for Crowded House and former pop anchor of Split Enz, Finn is one of only a scant handful of songwriters completely indebted to Lennon and the Beatles as a whole who has successfully placed his own stamp on such a tried and true melodic passport. You can hear the Beatles in nearly everything he does, but first and foremost you hear Neil Finn.

That son Liam follows closely in dad's footsteps will surprise no one. The question is, exactly when did Liam realize his talents fell so closely in line with Finn senior? As recently as 2004, Liam and Neil were even covering the Beatles' "Two of Us" together on the I Am Sam soundtrack (albeit only as an import-only bonus track). Preceding that (public) collaboration, the younger Finn had been getting his ya-yas out in the forgettable alt-rock act Betchadupa, an aggressive riposte to dad's classy pop. He's since toured as part of Finn's band and, more recently, Crowded House proper, where as an opening act Liam also got to show off his one-man-band skills, as well as songs from his excellent debut I'll Be Lightning.

It's uncanny how much Liam Finn recalls Neil Finn not just vocally, but also lyrically and melodically. Yet while Liam may sound a lot like Neil (and the Beatles, for that matter) on songs like "Energy Spent" or "Music Moves My Feet", he's not exactly aping him. As the tune goes, it's only natural, and besides, Liam's got a few things going for him that even dad doesn't.

Production-wise, I'll Be Lightning (recorded in Neil's studio with Liam behind the boards) shows the younger Finn has learned a few tricks from dad's friend Tchad Blake. Odd instrumental touches crop up throughout the album, and there's a welcome layer of grit and murk to even the prettiest songs here, lovely stunners like "Fire in Your Belly", "Lullaby", and "Remember When". When layers of Liam's overdubbed background vocals swell up in the immaculately arranged "Wise Men", the result is like discovering a lost chorus setting on a creaky old Chamberlin.

Liam's no snotty punk, but there is also a welcome looseness to songs such as "Better To Be", "Lead Balloon", "This Place is Killing Me", and even the lopsided ballad "Wide Awake On the Voyage Home" or the wistful "Second Chance". These songs are neat but not tidy, coming across a bit bashed out despite the conspicuously perfect placement of all their parts. And that's where Liam's relationship (both literally and figuratively) to his father really comes to the fore. Liam is just 24. At that age, Neil had yet to leave Split Enz and strike out on his own, yet here's his son who already seems to have absorbed a career's worth of musical lessons in half the time. Dad must be pretty proud, but at the same time, one can only imagine he's keeping a close competitive eye on the kid.