One All

Just to get this out of the way, let's all sing together: "Hey now, hey now, don't dre-e-e-e-e-e-am it's over."

While it's true that Crowded House is now predominantly a name heard during dull '80s music retrospective shows on VH1 or John Hughes movie marathons on late-night TV, that group is considered by many to be among the greatest pop-rock acts of the last two decades. When you combine Finn's obvious songwriting chops from his Crowded House days with his earlier work in the much-adored Split Enz, it's easy to see why he is considered one of New Zealand's finest and most consistent songwriters.

Finn's recent Seven Worlds Collide disc was not only well received, but rather remarkable, in that it contrived to place Johnny Marr and two members of Radiohead on the same stage with Eddie Vedder. So, clearly, this guy has some clout amongst heavy hitters (even if one of said hitters indicates he has questionable taste in friends).

One All is Finn's latest solo outing, and is rife with the mellow vibe of a musician who has been there and done that. This is not to say that there's no rocking to be had here: "Hole In The Ice" wouldn't sound out of place on fellow stalwart and seminal post-punk Steve Wynn's stellar Here Come The Miracles. Rather, Finn makes occasional dips into harder rocking or vaguely more electronic territory ("Wherever You Are") while leaning heavily on his core strengths: a gift for soaring melody, a clean, pure voice, and clever lyricism.

"Secret God", for instance, could easily have been a Crowded House tune, with its subtle, pleasing acoustic riff, tasteful drumming, occasional keyboard flourishes and gentle harmony. Then, suddenly, there's a distortion-heavy bridge, wherein tones are ground up and rethought before emerging, polished, from a Beatlesque exhalation of high harmony.

Great lyrics? Check out "Last To Know": "Still a young girl eyes on the clock / Tick like a motor running out / Magnets and words up on the fridge / Speak to the poet in all of us / I missed the page that you thought about / Drew in the frost on the windowpane / But who I wonder could fail to notice?" This sort of romantic-yet-clearheaded plain-spokenness brings to mind the thoughtful melodicism of Michael Penn.

Tracks like this are Finn's hallmark -- complex emotions and musical ideas put together like a Swiss watch, the hundreds of cogs and springs working together as only top-shelf craftsmanship can.