** Julian Lennon

PHOTOGRAPH SMILE

(Fuel 2000/Universal Music)

Julian Lennon's never had an easy time of things -- his work will never, can never, be judged in a vacuum. He's John's kid, and what's more, he sounds eerily like him in a way that his little brother probably never will.

His first album in seven years doesn't recall the calculating pop of his earlier work, but neither does it hit very hard on first listen. A mix of orchestrated ballads and, yep, Beatles-esque pop, Photograph Smile lacks both the indie cred of Sean's debut and the glossy chart potential of Julian's earlier work. That said, it's earnest without being too preachy or embarrassing -- not an easy feat in an age when irony is often our deepest emotion -- and full of winning melodies. "How Many Times" is a great jangly pop song, despite the album's most overwrought lyrics, and "Cold" is pleasingly minor-key catchy. But the track people are going to notice is "I Don't Wanna Know," a song Julian said he intended as a kind of Beatles tribute. After the first four bars you're convinced someone's sneaked on Hard Day's Night. It's exactly the kind of song you're expecting Jude to write -- a John Lennon song.

-- Ben Auburn