Brothers, fathers and sons.
That’s where I want to begin.
Brothers Neil Finn and Tim Finn
rose to rock stardom in the unlikely
and miraculous success of Split Enz,
the weirdest, nuttiest, and earliest
import from New Zealand ever.
At some point in the mid 80’s,
that group dissolved, and Neil
went on without his brother to
form the monumentally great
Crowded House. Over the course
of that band’s long career, the
Finn brothers reunited, once
for a Crowded House record,
Woodface, another time for a
Finn brother’s record, and, I think,
in collaboration on each other’s
solo records. Here’s the wild part:
The original Crowded House drummer,
Paul Hester, and the second drummer,
Peter Jones, both died young,
from suicide and brain cancer,
respectively, and by the time that
second drummer passed, Neil
Finn’s son, Liam, was playing the drums
professionally. As a teenager, he
finds himself drumming in his Dad’s band.
Liam officially becomes a member
and co-songwriter, along with his
brother, Elroy Finn, in 2020
on this first album in my
vinyl collection, Dreamers Are Waiting.
Today, in 2026, coming full circle,
special editions of the Split Enz
records are being boxed up, and
there are whispers of a reunion tour.
It’s an inspiring history to me, an
enduring, endearing family connection,
the fruits of which we are all
lucky enough to enjoy.
There are Crowded House records
in my CD collection that feel like
masterpieces, song after song after
great song, memorable hooks, and
a wide spectrum of stylistic moves,
from terrific and memorable ballads
to giant rockers, from the lyrically
sweet and smart to the satirically biting.
Listening for the first time in years to
Dreamers Are Waiting, I’m hearing
beautiful songs that nevertheless
did not stick with me. I think it all
comes down to how many times,
when it was new, that I listened.
Maybe there was just something
too sleepy, too mellow about it then
for my tastes or for my pandemic
brain, one that was absorbing new
music in an accelerated rate to
distract myself from the weirdness
of those years. It’s hard to say.
This is a decidedly good record.
Crowded House is another one
of those bands, I think, that do
not know how to make a bad album.
2024’s Gravity Stairs, however, cooks.
Not that it’s a rocker, by any means,
but the songs are stronger, hookier,
less sleepy. Neil, joined again by
his two sons, long-time Crowded
Houser Nick Seymour, and equally
long-time collaborator, producer,
and now band member, Mitchell
Froom, has recorded a melodic
and rhythmic feast, and it captures
a little bit of that Finn humor,
finally, as 65 year old Neil sings
“Are we gonna have some teenage summer?”
His voice is still incredibly strong.
If you close your eyes, you could still
imagine him as a young man.
I’ve never really thought about the
significance of this band name.
I don’t know if I’d want to live in
a crowded house, but then, as I think
about the vibe of their music,
and when I remember the vibe
growing up with family gatherings,
and the way in which Neil Finn’s
career has been a kind of gathering
of family, I can see the image
of a crowded house, a big tent,
as an immeasurable comfort
during these most difficult times.
Notes on the vinyl editions: Dreamers Are Waiting, Lester Records, BMG, 2020, black vinyl. Gravity Stairs, Lester Records, BMG, 2024, cloudy baby blue vinyl.
FYI: I’m listening to almost everything in my vinyl collection, A to Z, and writing a long skinny poem-like-thing in response for each artist. As a poet and a student of poetry, I understand that these things look like poems, but they don’t really sound much like poetry, hence, I call them “poem-like-things.” I’ll admit that they’re just long, skinny essays.
Crowded House concludes the letter C in my alphabetized record collection. Next up: D is for. . .
michael jarmer 