Parents eh, who'd have 'em? Well these two for starters, because without them it's probably fair to say that they wouldn't have gotten themselves recording contracts in such a painless manner. Whaddyamean you've got parents too, but you're working on the check-outs in B&Q? Perhaps it might have something to do with who your descendants are, not their simple existence, old chum.

Now I'm not saying that either of these guys wouldn't have made it on their own merits, but...

...let's start with Ben Taylor and his Another Run Around The Sun opus. Having been released last year to little more than a whimper, he's now decided to give it a second bite of the cherry thanks to the intervention of those marketing people from Independiente.

For those not yet sure where this is going in relation to the opening paragraph, Ben has a famous mummy and daddy - he's none other than the son of seventies chanteuse Carly Simon and veteran soul singer James Taylor. Sadly, despite the obvious genetic connotations for what might've been, he doesn't quite manage to pull it off on Another Run..., his second long player.

Mostly comprised of acoustic strums and mellow undertones, it occasionally lifts itself away from the barrel of mundanity such as on the uptempo 'Surround Me' or closing 'Lady Magic', but more often than not it sinks into the realms of blandness personified. It'll probably appeal to the Blunt/Morrison/Nutini market, but nothing beyond, and may equal an ideal Christmas present for your boss or your not-so-cool aunt with Dido hair.

Slightly better - and after elder half-sibling Julian's efforts in the late '80s we didn't have any reason to expect it to be - is Friendly Fire, Sean Lennon's second venture into solo album territory. Thankfully, unlike big bro', it doesn't really offer any inkling upon listening as to his musical heritage.

And what a heritage, to be fair. If anything, it could be argued that the levels of expectancy from having John Lennon and Yoko Ono as parents could be more of a hindrance than a guarantee of success, so rather than try to follow in either's footsteps or mimic a time that he wouldn't be able to remember, Lennon looks to influences from his own generation instead.

Granted, the credits on Friendly Fire read like an all-star cast from The OC, or some other American drama soap - Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Fisher and Asia Argento all pop up. But, musically, this album owes more to Lennon Jr's obvious dalliances with the likes of Wayne Coyne, Jonathan Donahoe and even Jeff Buckley.

While not possessing the most powerful voice in music, Lennon's sweet tones mix invitingly with the lush piano-led orchestration of 'Dead Meat' and intricate lullaby-like tones of 'Parachute'.The album's songs dissolve into a single, half-hour long fairytale. And it's not all about having a privileged lifestyle, as 'Headlights' and its rant about riches and cocaine suggest.

Whilst Sean Lennon still has an awful long way to go to even be mentioned in the same breath, as let alone artistically compared to, his father, Friendly Fire is better than anyone could have predicted. For that reason alone, he wins today's battle of the sons of famous parents.