Finneas - For Cryin’ Out Loud

For a man with 10 GRAMMY Awards to his name, it’s taken a surprisingly long time for FINNEAS to come into a solo sound that feels recognisably his own. Rightly hailed for his game-changing production work alongside sister Billie Eilish - a canon that will forever be written into the annals of history as shifting the course of pop music for an entire generation - his output under his own guise has, until now, felt decidedly less singular. Though 2021 debut ‘Optimist’ was a solid collection of radio-friendly songwriting, the necessary personality to lift him out of his sibling’s shadow seemed lacking. 

For the making of its follow-up, FINNEAS decided to change tack. Rather than squirrelling away on his own, he opted to assemble a band of sorts and craft ‘For Cryin’ Out Loud!’ as a collaborative effort, filled with the chemistry of players sparking in the room. Maybe it’s this that makes ‘Little Window’’s dusky Americana or the Harry Styles-esque shimmy of ‘2001’ shine; maybe the ideas on the musician’s second are just simply more interesting. But from the jazz bar piano and wry lyrics of opener ‘Starfucker’ (“You think you’re so underground / But you’re so much less profound”) to ‘Cleats’, which starts off in fairly nondescript jangly territory but takes a rich, unexpected turn in the middle eight, ‘For Cryin’ Out Loud!’ rings with character. Penultimate ballad ‘Family Feud’ could land in the realms of schmaltz were it not for the poignancy of its acutely specific lyrics: “And you’re only 22 / And the world is watching you / Judging everything you do”. Instead, its inclusion feels notable; a ready nod to the sister that made his star, sat within an album that proves he’s more than capable on his own.