Clive Young

Crowded House always seem to be able to effortlessly float between the beauty, whimsy, sentimentality, joy and sadness of the human condition, and this album is no exception. The immediacy of Neil Finn’s songwriting and singing allows us to be drawn in over time to the ambition, detail and depth of an entire album in a way quite lacking in the musical world we now inhabit. The production here is wonderfully transparent and respectful. There’s no agenda or aesthetic tacked on sonically. No need for clumsy attempts at modernity or “relevance”. It’s just true to itself and well worth the effort of repeated listens. It also reminds us that there is beauty in every human emotion. Most especially sadness…