Album Review: Finneas – For Cryin’ Out Loud!
3 min read
Finneas O’Connell is well known in the music industry… but not for his singing. The Californian native is best known for his production skills on his little sister’s music – that little sister just happens to be global superstar Billie Ellish! As an artist in his own right, For Cryin’ Out Loud! is Finneas’ second studio album, three years after debut Optimist. Released though OYOY and Interscope, Finneas was highly collaborative, drawing assistance from his vast network of producer friends – a decision made from the experience of producing his debut album, which he noted was a lonely experience.
Getting right into it, we begin with Starfucker, a down tempo misery-ballad with a great moment with the violin. Next up is What’s It Gonna Take to Break Your Heart? – with great use of voice modulator on backing vocals, and a great groove to the baseline, and this is followed by second single release Cleats – an upbeat track which screams Cali beach vibes in the guitar riff. We return to low tempo misery-ballads with Little Window though this does build throughout the track nicely, whilst 2001 is a nice, upbeat pop track with a good little (very little… actually too little TBH) guitar solo break.
Same Old Story kicks off the second half of the album, with a Damian Rice-esque downbeat misery-ballad (the best misery-ballad of the album IMO), which contrasts to the more upbeat (with an almost lo-fi Cali vibe) Sweet Cherries which has a great lead guitar riffing throughout, aside from a mid-track interlude dose of melancholy. First single release and title track For Cryin’ Out Loud! which, for me, is an inoffensive, middle of the road pop track (with a nice horn section backing) and not much more. Penultimate track Family Feud is an acoustic number, and somewhat of an ode to his sister growing up in a turbulent home – it’s a song with clear feeling an emotion put into it… and is easily the best track on the album – and leads us to final track, and most recent single release, Lotus Eater, which is sadly another middle of the road, easily forgettable song.
For Cryin’ Out Loud! isn’t cutting edge, it has a little bit of a dated lo-fi poppy feel to it – mainly melancholy, but not enough emotion (aside from Family Feud)… the best way to pigeonhole it would be to call it a solid coffee shop album. If this was the 1990’s I wouldn’t be surprised to hear some of the better tracks played as background music in ‘Dawsons Creek’ or ‘The OC’… it’s just feel a little behind the time, which is a bit weird when you consider how on the nose his production is in his sister’s tracks. Lets put it this way – I’m not sure anything will be added to my 2024 favourites.
