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TRY WHISTLING THIS by Neil Finn Okay, this album is not quite new but its one of the best I've heard this year so its worth a little webspace. Well when I bought this album it had been a long time since I heard anything from Neil Finn. I didn't even know he had an album coming out two weeks before I heard the first single, Sinner. The song Sinner itself was a grower, the textured sounds are a long way from Something So Strong. The dark green cover, the ambience of Sinner are merely the outer layers of a more sombre Neil Finn, who is still writing classic songs, if not classic pop. In fact, the only song that comes close to the old Crowded House radio-friendly sound is She Will Have Her Way. Its a great song, and it stands out. Its conventional, but in this album its a breath of fresh air. The rest of the album is indeed harder to whistle, and initially harder to swallow, but after a few listens I find it hard to dispute my friend David Lane's claim that its Neil's best album yet. The songcraft on Try Whistling This is amazing. There is almost no other artist I can think of that could pull this off. The title track is all over the shop, King Tide hits hardest in the end. Its a brave album. Finn cited Beck as a musical inspiration, and Finn's first foray into the world of sampling comes across well. Despite it being essential in songs like Dream Date, these are still songs you can still nut out in the backyard with that battered old acoustic guitar. And god, thats fun. This is definitely not a Crowded House album. This is an album written by a man of 40. Its mature and its smart. And being Neil Finn, every radio station under the sun will play it. Does it fascinate anyone else that Neil Finn has had pretty much the same smart casual look for 10 years or more? But he has always been a man about the music. One final note on Neil's image; he looks great for a man of 40. Stand out tracks include my favourite, Dream Date, the happiest song She Will Have Her Way, King Tide and the title track which gives a great overall feel of the album, as all good title tracks should. The esteemed Mr Finn still hasn't lost his edge, and it doesn't look like dulling anytime soon. In my opinion, he has a very promising career as a solo artist and I look forward to giving this man more money for future albums.
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links
frenz.com |