Turning their attentions back to the mainstream after dabbling in more awkward musical eddies, the Finn Brothers return to the pop fold with their first joint release since 1995’s ‘Finn’.
Neil and Tim are, of course, best known as former front men for Crowded House and Split Enz respectively, and, without raking up the back-catalogue for the sake of wordage, ‘Everyone Is Here’ has more in common with it’s Crowded House ancestry than closer relatives from either Tim or Neil’s compound discography. There are none of the traditional New Zealand influences in evidence on this second record when compared with ‘Finn’ (an album recorded in under a month and toured for less) and it’s construction has an altogether more deliberate air to it.
’Everyone Is Here’ is a slick album, and the cohort associated with it reads like a Who’s Who of shiny production; Tony Visconti supplying the string arrangements whilst Mitchell Froom and Bob Clearmountain mix, a reprise from their Crowded House ‘Woodface’ juncture.
For those more enamoured of Tim and Neil’s more recent solo and extra-curricular work the studio varnish may take a little getting used to. The good news is that this doesn’t detract from the fact that this album is a personal and engaging listen.
Opening track and single ‘Won’t Give In’ layers up gently, and as the most radio-friendly listen, it’s unmistakably Finn, featuring the close vocal harmonies which go on to characterise much of the vocals on the album.
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Standout tracks - 'Edible Flowers', 'Gentle Hum' and 'Disembodied Voices' showcase the Finns close to the top of their game. Opening with the line ’Talking with my brother when the lights went out, down the hallway 40 years ago’ acoustic gem 'Disembodied Voices' unfolds like a diary entry. Beatles-esque stabs of cello, underscored with banjo and mandolin, it sounds as fresh as a daisy, with blades of grass tickling toes.
The sliding string prologue to 'Edible Flowers' and the refrain ‘Everybody wants the same thing, to see another birthday’ goes some way to explaining the rather dour sepia tones of the album’s sleeve art, evocative of much of the album's reflective mood. Aside from these, there are sing-a-long choruses to be had, with 'Luckiest Man Alive' and 'Homesick' assuring all killer and no filler, dripping with pop hooks amongst other solid offerings.
Appropriately however, final track, 'Gentle Hum' tops the proceedings; a mellow and rolling aural treat, an aptly warm coda to a clutch of intimate reflective songs well suited to a summer release.
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