Crowded House

About

<b>Neil Finn’s post-Split Enz debut kicked off an enduring new chapter.</b> “I’ve been feeling so much older,” Neil Finn sings in passing on Crowded House’s 1986 debut album. While the 28-year-old was coming off a seven-year stint in Split Enz—as well as his recent initiation into fatherhood—this self-titled outing doesn’t scan as world-weary. In fact, it proved to be the fresh-faced start of a musical journey that would nourish Finn for decade. After forming the new band with Split Enz drummer Paul Hester, Finn penned one of the signature songs of his career in <b>“Don’t Dream It’s Over,”</b> an appropriately liminal ballad about uncertain endings that leads with a glistening, slow-burn guitar lick and some of Finn’s most soulful singing. It blossomed into an international hit, reaching No. 2 on the US chart and prompting the follow-up single <b>“Something So Strong”</b> to gain similar traction oversea. The latter was a co-write with producer Mitchell Froom, who would helm several more Crowded House albums and eventually join the band in 2020. (He also played the Procol Harum-esque organ solo on “Don’t Dream It’s Over.”) Musically, <i>Crowded House</i> sprinkles yearning folk and playful funk across Finn’s confident pop-rock songwriting. While there’s still some of Split Enz’s carnivalesque New Wave in tracks like <b>“Hole in the River,”</b> Finn immediately proves his effectiveness as a lead singer with his robust vocal turn on the horn-kicked opener <b>“Mean to Me.”</b> .

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

Start your shelf to read the full take →