Crowded House – Gravity Stairs (BMG) (13th Floor Album Review)

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Crowded House is about to release Gravity Stairs, an album that illuminates the multiple branches of Neil Finn’s musical tree, while sprouting a few new ones in the process.

The album has a sense of balance by utilizing songs that appeal to the contemplative and patient mind, and others that aim directly for the heart with immediacy and the big feels.

Gravity Stairs is the second release from the current iteration of Crowded House featuring Neil Finn, his sons Liam & Elroy Finn, Nick Seymour and Mitchell Froom. There is a progression in confidence and interplay of the band members since 2021’s Dreamers Are Waiting. Gravity Stairs is the sound of a band taking more creative risk and reaping a greater reward.

Album opener Magic Piano drops gently; a light-headed, woozy rhythm underneath the lyrics “I began to sense my own weight walking up the gravity stairs, bells ringing in the temple above, the piano is playing itself”. Neil Finn provided context within the album’s press coverage that he is referring to a literal stone staircase in Europe, but it’s one of many examples on the record of his ability to write lyrics that are surreal, vivid in mental imagery and open-ended in interpretation. The song peaks in the outro with a psychedelic haze of layered vocal, a Mitchell Froom washing of keys and gloriously melodic bass runs from Nick Seymour.

A warm and playful energy emanates from lead single Oh Hi, the merits of which shine brighter within the context of the whole album.

Second single Teenage Summer (formerly known as Life’s Imitation) and album centrepiece, Some Greater Plan (for Claire), are ripe for radio and likely stand-outs for fans who favour the immediacy found in the songwriting of the first four Crowded House records. Both have full-bodied chorus hooks delivered with equal measures of devastation and hope. These two stand proudly alongside the likes of Fall At Your Feet and Not The Girl You Think You Are.

There are some elusive and less immediate songs contained in the back half of the album. Thirsty, Night Song and Black Water, Blue Circles all resist being easily pinned down, even after several listens. Each is gentle and pleasant on the surface, yet steeped in sonic nuance, dense arrangement, and rich instrumentation. These songs leave the impression that each member of the band has mindfully contributed their arrangements to best serve the headspace of the songs themselves. Total abandon to what a Crowded House song ‘should’ sound like. The result is a far-cry from anything on the Recurring Dream Best-Of, yet it’s a sound entirely aligned to Neil Finn’s consistent track-record of pushing his own creative envelope. There is a hint of future payoffs for the returning listener here; my most rewarding Finn outputs including Dizzy Heights and Try Whistling This, albums that took several years before firmly sinking their teeth into my consciousness.

Blurry Grass and Can’t Keep Up With You propel the haze of 60’s guitar pop; the former featuring an unassuming lead vocal from Elroy Finn. Whereas The Howl provides his older brother to showcase his increasingly stunning falsetto and knack for affecting melodies. Be sure to check out Liam Finn’s I Just Want You To Be So Happy, the lead single from his forthcoming, and very promising, HYPERVERSE album.

My favourite song on the album nestles in at track number four; All That I Can Ever Own. It’s an ode to the deep sense of love and gratitude you hold towards others and the inability for anyone to take that away from you. It’s a sunny and driven track with hooks that grow taller in statue with each repeated listen.

Gravity Stairs is another worthy entry into the Crowded House and Finn catalogue with its keen sense of purpose and tastefully modern production.  It’s an album that should satisfy the attention of both the dedicated and the casual listeners.

Aotearoa should be excited to see these new songs performed live in coming months (see the tour dates below). Despite a massive catalogue spanning nearly 50 years, the studio recordings showcase only part of the Neil Finn story; this reviewer also makes a not for profit, entirely fan-driven fortnightly podcast called 240 GIGABYTES OF NEIL FINN which is dedicated to exploring the many curiosities of live Neil Finn recordings and is available on streaming platforms.

Chris Warne

Crowded House’s Gravity Stairs will be released on Friday, May 31st. Pre-save/Pre-order GRAVITY STAIRS HERE.

Crowded House New Zealand Tour Dates:

Sat 09 Nov – WELLINGTON – TSB ARENA
Tue 12 Nov – DUNEDIN – TOWN HALL
Wed 13 Nov – CHRISTCHURCH – WOLFBROOK ARENA
Tue 19 Nov – PALMERSTON NORTH – REGENT ON BROADWAY
Wed 20 Nov – TAURANGA – MERCURY BAYPARK ARENA
Fri 22 Nov – HAMILTON – GLOBOX ARENA, CLAUDELANDS
Sat 23 Nov – AUCKLAND – SPARK ARENA

Chris Warne
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