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Neil Finn | One Nil

Pure craftsmanship by the ex-Split Enz and Crowded House man.
CD, Parlophone/EMI

Tekst: Dave Weil

Publicatiedatum: 26 november 2001

Neil Finn is a bit of an enigma. Blessed with the gift of a hook, he's a pop subversive. Not content with trapping the listener with hummable bits, he subverts the normal pop conventions and demands a close attention to his craft. This is both his blessing and his curse. The blessing is that he makes some of the most satisfying pop music around. The curse is that it keeps him from being a huge commercial success. But one suspects that this is not a curse at all, but a persistent attempt to stay grounded, not only as a pop star but as a husband and father. Instead of pandering to his obvious talent, he kept pop stardom at arm's length during his stewardship of Crowded House, one of the shining lights of modern popular music. When he disbanded Crowded House at a point where he was poised to take the band into the 21st Century (They had just recorded a couple of songs that made it clear that he had the potential to move the band back into chart success.), people fretted - what now? Will he renounce the Crowded House ethos? Will his obsession with world music, especially that of his corner of the world, make him inaccessible to those who cherish his clever turns? Or will it simply expand his musical vocabulary, dragging the unwilling into a new appreciation of exotic sounds? This wasn't entirely answered by his first solo album 'Try Whistling This'. With jarring electronica sounds, a brittle, edgy sound, and odd loops, the characteristic warmth of his "usual" sonic landscape only poked its head out sporadically. With is second solo album 'One Nil', released worldwide except in the US at this point, he has forged a sound which incorporates all of those disparate elements in a warm, lush, human sound that hearkens back to Crowded House without being slavish to its memory. This album features a fine cast of supporting characters, from Wendy and Lisa from Prince, to Sheryl Crow, long a Finn Fanatic, to old collaborator Mitchell Froom, noted drummer Jim Keltner, and tonal wizard, violinist Lisa Germano. Even his newest co-workers, who incidentally are his son Liam and his wife Sharon, make appearances. The album opens with feedback but is soon augmented with the warm strumming of an acoustic guitar and a cello-simulated e-bowed guitar. And then you are welcomed with the first of many musical hooks. By the time you get to the lush vocals of the bridge, you know that this album is going to be something special. The song that seems to best typify the ease in which Finn has merged the modern with the classic is the song 'Wherever You Are', a song which begins with a rough-sounding synthesized drum loop. Instantly, as soon as his voice sings the first line, the listener is soothed. Meanwhile, there's a staccato synth bit that restates the mechanical nature of the rhythm. But, in the mix, you hear the hint of punctuating piano, as well as the familiar springy rhythm guitar that Finn is known for. Also present are faint braying guitar soundscapes. Eventually the song settles into a vaguely samba feel, and one can feel palm trees swaying and salt air in the nostrils. And yes, the song is imminently hummable. The elegiac, hymnlike 'Turn and Run' features a wonderful harmony vocal from Sheryl Crow, and the song is a reassurance that, with love, one can be sheltered from the travails and challenges of modern times. 'Anytime' has a shocking relevance after the events of September 11th. With lines like, "I could go anytime / there's nothing safe about this life" and, "fear is so contagious / I'm not afraid to laugh," the song could be a depressing paeon to existential angst. But it's redeemed by an almost joyful change from minor to major key and the line, "let's make it right / I feel like I'm in love". And then we get to my personal favourite, 'Driving Me Mad', which is one of the best "struggling with the muse" songs ever. Beautifully crafted, with gorgeous minor hooks and the imagery of the sleepless nights of a songwriter tortured by a song just on the edge of snaring from the unconscious, the song builds with a wonderful French-styled accordion (uncredited, but suspected to be Sheryl Crow), until the final verse, where the songwriter addresses his muse, a "diamond girl", directly, imploring her to cut through the deadlines and daily distractions. Suddenly, we're left with just a heartbreakingly beautiful accordion figure that leads us to the final chorus. It's small touches like the accordion that tug at the heartstrings of the listener. The album closes with 'Into the Sunset', in which we sense the relief of an artist back with his family after plying his trade in far corners of the world. One can almost hear the key in the lock at the front door. To sum up, this is a not a return to Crowded House, it's far better. His music is for repeated consumptions. At first listen, one isn't bowled over by the genius of the music. But rather than slapping you in the face with hooks and soundscapes, you are quietly assimilated into the bittersweet world of Neil Finn. This makes for a longer infatuation with the music, and this keeps the music fresh and vibrant. Ignore at your own peril.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/neil-finn/one-nil/957/
Meer Neil Finn op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/neil-finn