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Too old to enjoy a 45? The Finns will change your mind

Crowded House Dreamers Are Waiting Out now

Tim de Lisle

There comes a time in a music-lover’s life when it becomes hard to get excited by a single. A 45, much like a 99, means less to us when we’re past 45 ourselves. Lately, though, there have been two magical new singles – sung by members of the same family.

Tim Finn, the New Zealand singer best known as the leader of Split Enz, has written 20 songs with Phil Manzanera, the great Roxy Music guitarist. The first to emerge is Caught By The Heart, a yearning ballad that really does catch you by the heart.

Meanwhile Tim’s brother Neil Finn, also from Split Enz, has reactivated his other band, Crowded House, after a ten-year hiatus. Their single To The Island, a pop song bursting with soul, may be the thirdbest thing they have ever made, behind Don’t Dream It’s Over and Weather With You.

Now here is the seventh Crowded House album and the 28th of Neil’s career. It would take more than lockdown to stop him in his tracks. Recently he has recorded with his wife, Sharon, and both his sons, Liam and Elroy – who have joined the family firm.

Neil is two musicians in one. He’s a sophisticate who enjoys changing the time signature in mid-stream, or finishing a track in an ambient haze. But he’s also a master of simplicity whose choruses feel as if they just popped into his head.

This skill has been sharpened since he joined Fleetwood Mac. Songs such as Love Isn’t Hard At All and Deeper Down are so direct and endearing that they could come from the pen, and the heart, of Christine McVie. Warm and cheering, full of joy and empathy, this is the kind of album that ends up being more like a friend.

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2021-06-06T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-06T07:00:00.0000000Z

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