Liam Finn : I’ll Be Lightning

<img src="http://www.qromag.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/liamfinnillbelightning.jpg" alt=" " />New Zealand’s Liam Finn goes to London and finds his inner Lennon and more on <em>I’ll Be Lightning</em>....
7.0 Yep Roc
2008 

 New Zealand’s Liam Finn goes to London and finds his inner Lennon and more on I’ll Be Lightning. The frontman for Betchadupa, and son of Crowded House/Split Enz member Neil Finn, may have recorded his solo debut at his dad’s Roundhead Studios in Auckland, but the material came from his recent years living in London.  And it’s certainly a solo record: he played almost all the instruments himself (live, he’s known to use looping pedals to replicate the effect).  I’ll Be Lightning is a bit hit-or-miss, but Finn’s definitely on to something.

In general, Lightning is strongest in its first half.  Opener “Better To Be” has a nice flow with its catchy procession keys, while the subsequent likely single “Second Chance” is a high-but-pressing, airy haunt with an interesting beat effect.  Other standouts in the first half include the catchy, boppy, garage-rock fun of “Lead Balloon” and the country-fun-folk of the winning “Energy Spirit”.  “Fire In Your Belly” plays like a heartfelt Beatles song, soft, quiet, and very pretty.

However, Finn loses the string a bit in the middle and end of Lightning.  “Music Moves My Feet” channels the sappy Beatles you were never really that into, while “Lullaby” isn’t a very interesting a-cappella.  And the slow, stripped finishers, “Wide Awake On The Voyage Home” and “Shadow Of Your Man”, rely too heavily on Finn’s vocals.  But then there’s the infectious folk press and rock ‘n’ roll fill of “This Place Is Killing Me” to remind you of what Finn can do.

Some people say New Zealand alternative music never really recovered from the mid-nineties, with the break-up of Straitjacket Fits and local super-indie-label Flying Nun losing most of its acts, but a new generation is coming, and Liam Finn is at the forefront.  Indie-pop’s come from smaller, stranger, and more distant places than Sweden, and has been doing so for quite a while.

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