Neil Finn

Out Of Silence

lester Easy on the ear, but nothing that stands out from the Crowd. Former

Crowded House man Neil Finn always wanted to write a song in the morning, record it in the afternoon and release it that night. Out Of Silence almost fulfils that objective. Following four live streams in August, the album was mixed in Auckland and ready to go.

Piano ballads and autumnal reflections are at the heart of 10 orchestrated pieces. Love Is Emotional and the possibly apocalyptic More Than One Of You set the standard on an album that has the sonic feel of a nightclub engagement; percussive ticks, pedal noise and whirring acoustic guitars add to

the flavour. Brother Tim pops in for Alone, a naïve snapshot of life in London with Split Enz. The city was grey, buses bloodshot. Independence Day is normal for Neil: he tests the climate and the atmospherics are depressing. Terrorise Me, a response to the Bataclan outrage, is the key piece. The rest is no faffing and easy listening.

Max Bell