Salient

Liam Finn - I’ll Be Lightening

By Tony Barnao | 16 Jul, 2007

God gave Liam a very good set of cards; this boy has the gift of melody in his blood.

After seeing him play live at Camp A Low Hum, I’ve been looking forward to listening to some recordings of his ideas. This is a very full sounding album packed with harmonious choruses and some very catchy rhythms underlying each song. Liam plays every instrument himself in this album, seemingly there is no bass at all, except for his use of an octiver effect, which makes his guitar sound like a bass!

There are two sides to Liam Finn, one as a live performer, and the other is as a producer. As a producer Liam should feel he has accomplished something great. The production and mixing is very creative and full of imagination. He has taken a “no fear” approach to trying new things!

Everything in the album was recorded by analogue equipment, so it is totally organic music. What’s more, Liam has released this album with LA based Kufala Recordings records who supply totally recycled packaging with biodegradable plastic that you can even smoke. I licked it and it tasted great!

Back to the music, the songwriting is what you would expect from the son of Neil Finn and the lead singer of Betchadupa. It almost sounds like both at times! ‘Track 2’ has had the most effect on me but there are definitely some hidden gems in this album. The track “I’ll be lightening” was recorded by Liam Finn, Neil Finn, Betchadupa band mate Matt Eccles, and Connan Hosford from Connan and the Mockasins who had all been out for some dinner and wine and were inspired to go to the studio and record a song that Liam and Connan had been working on. The song was recorded in one take!

Some of the album’s songs seem to all sound the same, not necessarily a bad thing for some listeners. But in saying that, there are definitely enough good hooks in this album for it to be worth buying!

Judge for yourself, Liam is playing at Sandwiches 20 July!