Crowded House

Crowded House
Time on Earth
(ATO/Maple)
Neil Finn is one of the most underrated artists in modern pop. So often the talk about him—the appreciation of him—relates to the surface sound: rich and sunny melodies, hummable tunes, playful and heartfelt songs. There is all that, but oh, there’s so much more dwelling beneath on this album by a re-formed Crowded House. “She Called Up” demonstrates Finn’s ability to couple uplifting music with sobering and sad storytelling—it’s about receiving the news of the suicide of original Crowded House drummer Paul Heston in 2005. A dramatic tension lies at the heart of the song, perhaps like the whole album and the man’s career.
Sean Flinn