Search - Sean Na Na :: My Majesty

SEAN NA NA'S MASTERPIECE

Jeff | San Diego, CA | 02/15/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mesmerized by the "Princess and the Pony" track on his split EP with Mary Lou Lord several years ago, I've been a fan of Sean Tillmann ever since. No one else chronicles depression and rejection with such infectious mastery. Sean and his band's penchant for incredibly catchy melodies coupled with bitter, brooding lyrics is unassailably cool.While the lo-fi simplicity and analogue crackle of previous "Sean Na Na" albums was charming and congruent with the material, "My Majesty" opts for fully-polished studio finesse. At times, Bryan Hannah's production even channels full-bore 1970s-style arena rock.As usual, the lyrics are top-notch. Brilliant, sometimes surreal meditations on drug abuse, death, petty revenge, as well as endemic romantic gaffes are laced with clever metaphors and well-turned phrases. The key to Sean Na Na's genius is that he crafts dark scenes and stories which we can all identify with -- even pump our fists to. Whether he's singing about "putting a knife" to his wrists or wishing gonhorrhea upon the girl who just dissed him, his pain is palpable because -- whether we like to admit it or not -- we've been there, too.But this is not a monolithic mope-fest, as "My Majesty" boasts an impressive range of styles. Up-beat numbers give way to dreamy, introspective songs. "Third Life" and "I Need a Girl," in particular, capture the kind of innocence and longing that render some of Tillmann's nastier claims more human. "Double Date" is a straight-up pop song about a man who can't get no satisfaction, and "The Human Raft" tells the tale of a group of debauched hedonists who are so into "MDA" that they eat a fellow partier's overdosed corpse for one last high. The runaway track here is "Grew Into My Body." With it's classic "Who"-style guitar riffs and balls-out rebellious bravado, Mr. Na Na may have a bona-fide hit on his hands."Sean Na Na" is a one-of-a-kind band, but if you like the devil-may-care punk attitude of modern bands like the White Stripes and The Strokes or the plantive, hooky musings of artists like Elliott Smith or Belle and Sebastian, you should definitely give this album a listen."

Sean tillmann loves unicorns

tigerbeat | chicago | 11/02/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"sean tillmann has been writing good music for a long time now, weather its harmarsuperstar or whatnot its usally good. Sean na na's cd "your majesty" is just that. though it is slightly different then "dance til your baby becomes a man", it still catches me like anyother record sean has put out...in "your majesty", it seems the guitars are toned up and there isnt as much keys as on "dance til your baby becomes a man" some songs are also much faster...i wouldent campare sean to anyone, he has his own brilliant way of writing music...the only thing i would advise to you to do is to get ahold of "dance til your baby becomes a man" before you buy "your majesty" i think it would give you a better idea of sean's music..."