*** Neil Finn
TRY WHISTLING THIS
(Work Group)
As a member of his older
brother Tim's band, Split Enz, and the founder of Crowded House, Neil Finn has
been tapping into a Beatlesque pure pop vein for two decades. You always knew
what you were going to get with a Finn project: shimmering harmonies, lush
arrangements, picture-perfect choruses, and melody, melody, melody. So the
implied challenge of the title is easily, readily met. There are no big
surprises, only songs, and some very good ones at that. When Finn sings "Hand
me down my favourite coat" on the album opener, "Last One Standing," he might
as well be talking about the immaculately tailored pop form that continues to
fit him so nicely. There are even a few sharp new creases. Whereas Crowded
House sometimes seemed a little too cloying, a little too eager to please, here
an occasional snarling guitar (kept on a tight, tasteful leash, of course)
bites into the creamy melancholy, or darker clouds linger over daydreamy
lyrics. In short, there's a little more John here, and a little less Paul.
-- Jonathan Perry
|