Tim FinnNew Zealand legendary singer-songwriter Tim Finn (Split Enz, Crowded House, The Finn Brothers) in a smash double-bill with White Bear Lake native Alice Peacock! Tim's latest release Imaginary Kingdom is the best record of his solo career. There's something in the writing that stamps the album as a modern classic. Tunes such as 'Astounding Moon', 'Couldn't Be Done' and 'Show Yourself' become ingrained in your cranium and stay there for days. The tunes were dreamt up in New Zealand and recorded in Nashville with producer Bobby Huff (Jordan McCoy/Julian Lennon/LeAnn Rimes). Later, mixes were streamed down the internet and Finn would drive his car on roads lit by the moon listening to MP3 files. Crackling through the speakers, the mood of the new material spoke volumes. The lyrics venture towards magic realism, Finn invites the listener into a private world … his own Imaginary Kingdom. The melodies are sharp and engaging, the instrumentation serves the tunes; while the lush strings occasionally add a seductive quality rarely realized in contemporary music. 'Winter Light', which appeared in the film The Chronicles Of Narnia, was inspired during a winter photo shoot when the photographer talked of the way the light seemed to bounce back up from the ground.
With Imaginary Kingdom we can add another smattering of instant classics to the Finn cannon. There's an energy in Tim's writing and performance that marks Imaginary Kingdom as a special album, an album that grew out of Finn's extraordinary abilities with a pop song. Material here ranks alongside the better work of Ray Davies, Elvis Costello, the solo Lennon and McCartney and whoever else moved your heart with a handful of chords, an irresistible melody, haunting lyrics and an artist's precision for beauty. The poet Robert Graves spoke about an emerging age of psychological magic, here is an album for our times.
Lived-in. That’s how Alice Peacock’s new album Who I Am feels. “When we
were recording the strings, one of the musicians said to me, ‘This record feels like an old shirt – familiar and comfortable,’” she says. Alice was deeply touched by the remark. In fact, she and producer Andrew
Williams were striving to make a classic-sounding record. Warm as faded flannel, Who I Am recalls the golden age of singer-songwriter pop. It is impeccably crafted, but what’s most affecting is how easy and organic it feels, how directly Alice’svoice connects with the listener.
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