New album , the second with his kids Elroy and Liam in the band. Nick Seymour’s there too and long time collaborator Mitchell Froom.
I have never been much of a fan , liked Intriguer , Finn N. when he joined Split Enz but even a greatest hits stayed on the shelf. And I’m very wary of any bands where the kids are in on it. But I like this. Vocals sound wonderful. Some flat bits but think dreamy Beatles.
Crowded House – Gravity Stairs
by 10 Comments
It’s a strange, dreamy experience (even more ‘blurry’ in Atmos). It’s like they caught that moment in between sleep and awake, where strange thoughts drift past, and turned it into an album.
Maybe not for everyone; I was always personally in the ‘Mitchell Froom needs to be there’ camp with the Crowdies.
One last thought, Elroy really does a Paul Hester on Blurry Grass.
For me they’ve got the same problem as Wilco – too comfy.
This and the last record have no urgency. It’s a nice family gathering, extremely competent, just not much of a spark to my ears.
Maybe Paul Hester was the Bill Berry of Crowded House?
Yes the dreaminess is a strength in terms of the vocals – they sound great and plenty of melody as you’d expect from Finn. Perhaps lacking that “ song” tightness.
For me almost literally an album of two halves. First 6 songs I like a lot, even if there isn’t a true stand out banger. The last five – there’s not one thing about them that’s made the slightest impression on me. Nothing there at all.
The best CH songs always take a while to reveal themselves, and my verdict’s still out on Dreamer Are Waiting from three years ago. I’ve been listening a playlist of both albums this week, and a lot of it hasn’t left any impression at all.
I wonder if bands need a bit of internal tension behind their best stuff? In the past Finn has had his brother, Paul Hester and perhaps Mark Hart to rein him in. The Finn Family Singers version of CH is all a bit too nice and respectful.
I agree; the only real external guy is Nick Seymour and he’s not going to piss on his meal ticket.
The samey vocals through the entire album are a big turnoff for me. Neil Finn has a fine, strong singing voice and I wish he’d use it, not just this rather thin voice/double tracked codswallop.
Finn Family Singers ( rebranded to FFS)
Frank Ferdinand and Sparks already claimed that one for their collaboration.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FFS_(band)
Thanks for letting us know about this , Junior.
I’ll definitely be giving this a listen for old times’ sake.
When they were good, the House were excellent. But all this talk about the FFS suggests that House has been refurnished…..by IKEA!
Here’s a track from the album
This one is nice. https://youtu.be/_uMmTV4oGaA?si=Z9egrXTDdeGtLC43