Gravity Stairs |
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Released: May 31, 2024 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: adult alternative rock |
Tracks:Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts.
Total Running Time: 40:40 The Players:
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Rating: 3.488 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings)
Quotable:“The most Crowded House thing that Crowded House have made in 30 years.” – Andy Fyfe, Mojo |
About the Album:“Everyone who admires a well-crafted melody and a flawless pop song was delighted when Neil Finn reconvened Crowded House for 2021’s Dreamers Are Waiting.” HP That lineup featured “Finn’s gifted sons Liam and Elroy as well as the talents of Mitchell Froom, who worked the faders on the first three albums including 1991’s solid gold classic Woodface.” HP On Crowded House’s Dreamers Are Waiting they offered “many highlights such as ‘To The Island’ and the bouncing ‘Playing With Fire,’ but they’ve surpassed it here.” MJ While that album “had flashes of the old days,” MJ Gravity Stairs features tracks that “effortlessly withstand direct comparison with the band’s mid-’90s peak.” MJ Dreamers Are Waiting and the two previous Crowded House albums (2007’s Time on Earth and 2010’s Intriguer) were “ad hoc affairs, mostly comprising songs written for other Neil Finn projects that he felt somehow aligned more with his old band.” MJ However, Gravity Stairs “started and finished as pure Crowded House” MJ with “the five-piece gelling wonderfully on this loose, gently psychedelic LP that’s still guided by Finn’s immaculate pop instincts.” RS “There’s a dreamlike, swirling quality to the sound on this record.” HP This “fresh collection of expertly written and recorded songs…is a testament to their enduring talent, featuring tracks that are deep, uplifting, and clever.” IR Each song showcases Crowded House‘s signature blend of poignant lyrics and moving melodies, ensuring that listeners are both moved and inspired.” IR “It’s an impressive new chapter for Crowded House that hints toward there still being plenty of interesting corners of the pop universe left for them to explore.” RS It is “the most Crowded House thing that Crowded House have made in 30 years.” MJ “Themes of mortality, such as fatherhood, the afterlife, nostalgia, and the unknown future of the planet, are woven throughout Finn’s songwriting on the record.” IR The album title was inspired by a stone staircase near where Neil vacations. They symbolized “the struggle to climb up, to keep going, which grows in difficulty as one ages. And the stairs are a metaphor for Finn’s creative process, the building-up process that ends with the completed song.” GM “Magic Piano”Magic Piano “is the first song that the band worked on for the album. It’s a mellow song with an echo-laden lead vocal by Finn.” GM It “channels a stoned Beatles vibe that would make Paul McCartney envious.” RS It “is an impressive and catchy production that immediately draws the listener into the whirling mind of Finn’s captivating songwriting. It establishes the overall vibe of the record—steeped in mystery while simultaneously remaining entirely familiar and captivating.” IRIn the album bio, Neil said, “It was a very different song when we started playing it. It was probably ambitious as a first recording because it’s not a simple song — it’s got a lot of twists and turns. But the aim is to produce something that sounds effortless, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and that it’s always existed like that. That’s the art of record making.” GM “Teenage Summer”Second single Teenage Summer “proves Finn is still the Southern Hemisphere’s undisputed king of jangle pop.” RS It “floats through like a July breeze when you’ve all the windows open and you’re feeling good about yourself. Its original title, ‘Life’s Imitation,’ was ditched when Finn’s grandson told the song writer over the phone that he really liked the ‘Teenage Summer’ song. Finn wisely paid attention, adding in a recent interview with this reviewer that, ‘It seemed obvious and we won’t have people in record stores asking for the wrong song like they did with ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’. “Have you got ‘Hey Now’?’” HP“The theme is of longing for connection during a time of isolation.” GM Neil said in the album liner notes that “It’s about trying to achieve some reality and being aware that connection is hard to make. And even before Covid, it was hard to find closeness to people. That became particularly acute afterward.” GM “The Howl”Third single, The Howl is the “album highlight” RS It “is a gorgeous song” GM that “opens with the kind of circular guitar figure they excel at with Finn’s voice soaring around the melody.” HP Liam wrote the song and it is featured “in a slightly different form on Liam’s excellent new album Hyperverse.” RS“All That I Can Ever Own”This is “a great song about telling the missus she’s the greatest in the car on the way home – could pass for some long buried Beatles ‘66 outtake or a piece of sunshine.” HP It “is a rumination on growing older and wiser, and realizing that there are many things in life that one cannot control. On the subject of the song, Finn said in the album bio, ‘Throughout your life there’s an element of letting go of anything other than the love you feel for somebody.’” GM“Oh Hi”The upbeat, bright” GM and “joyous ‘Oh Hi’” HP “was an obvious choice for the first single.” HP The song was inspired by Neil’s work with So They Can, a nonprofit organization which builds schools in Kenya and Tanzania. WK Neil said “it’s very much inspired by these incredible kids and their magnificence.” GM“Some Greater Plan (for Claire)”This “touching song” IR features “folk-mandolin-esque tremolo strumming in the song’s orchestration.” IR Neil got the idea for the song after reading in his father’s war diary about a brief romance he had in Italy during the Second World War and “the wistful look in his eye in later years” GM when he discussed that period.Neil’s brother Tim guests on the track. As for the “Claire” in the title, it isn’t a reference to Neil’s father’s lost love, but a friend of Neil’s that passed away. GM “Black Water, White Circle”This “is a moody and gentle song with a soft lead vocal by Finn that is supported by perfectly understated backing by the band.” GM“Blurry Grass”This “is a bit laid back with some trippy elements to it.” GM“I Can’t Keep Up with You”This “is dreamlike at the outset with echo effects and distant vocals before it shifts about 30 seconds in to a more straight-ahead rock song with strident guitar, solid bass and drums and Finn’s direct lead vocal. It contains some quirky, Split Enz-like elements to it. At the end, the song slowly grinds to a halt.” GM“Thirsty”This “is so gorgeous in its simplicity, it’s natural to assume it must have been written before.” HP It “is a softer song with acoustic guitar and brushes on the drums. Finn’s perfectly measured lead vocal is at its center. A dreamlike song with good backing vocals, it has a countrified feel to it.” GM“Night Song”This “ambitious closer” HP is “a wistful and glitzy pop song” IP with “distinct movements.” HP It “is jazzy with light piano and a smooth lead vocal by Finn at the outset. The pace picks up about two minutes in, with more prominent bass and drums. Finn’s lead vocal grows stronger and is complemented by equally powerful backing vocals.” GMNeil was inspired by a guy “ranting outside a hotel-room window one night at 3 a.m.” GM Neil said, “You share that part of the night with people who are on his kind of trip. I felt a strange kinship with him.” GM The song is “is a fitting end to an album filled with impressionistic lyrics backed by adventurous soundscapes.” IR “A voice at the end says, ‘Beautiful, I love it!’ You will too. Bet The ‘House. You can’t lose.” HP |
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First posted 5/31/2024. |
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