Power Aussie rockers Crowded House haven't produced anything this good since their streak in the eighties. Time on Earth is a moving piece of work, helped by guests like the incredibly talented, prolific Johnny Marr (fan!) and the Dixie Chicks (not a fan). And it's an album largely haunted by drummer Paul Hester's suicide.
The album's tone is set by the floating, slow, dreamy opener of "Nobody Wants To." Neil Finn's voice is crooning, and while the song is tinged with country it's well-crafted lo-fi rock. Their sound has certainly gotten smoother, slower, and has done away with the new wave/glam tinge altogether. "Don't Stop Now" is simply a continuation of the sleek rock of the album opener, with a sufficiently-built chorus and Finn's distant but simple and piercing vocals. "She Called Up" is the album's first upbeat offering, and it's catchy but not really my style as its country influence is a bit too obvious. The bridge is definitely funky, calling to mind the disjointed chords of bands like Silverchair, but I wouldn't call this an album highlight.
"Say That Again" is another solid offering of melancholy Sunday-morning rock, like a less brash, more sophisticated Goo Goo Dolls. This haunting piece is probably the album's strongest point until the next track, "Pour Le Monde," in which Finn really capitalizes on the piano that was hinted at in the opening track. This piano-driven piece highlights Finn's basic but poetic and touching skill with lyrics, and while the orchestrated backing is this close to being sappy the piece is crafted well enough to avoid that pitfall.
"Even a Child"is Marr's contribution to the album and begins the string of really strong tracks. Integral is Marr's catchy guitar-work; here the country twinge works. "Heaven That I'm Making"is more experimental than prior album songs and isn't the strongest effort on the album; "A Sigh" is a Doves-like lush effort backed by tremoring violins and well-placed orchestral arrangements. "Silent House" (surprisingly co-written by the Dixie Chicks) is an album highlight with a smart buildup to the payoff of a melancholy, gorgeous reflection on a dead friend. Finn even inserts small bagpipe sections, demonstrating that while he knows how to play it safe, he steps outside the box enough to prove his musicianship.
"English Trees" is another album highlight, harking back to the earlier smooth rock at the album's start but even more mellowed out. "Walked Her Way Down" is the jazziest track on the album, with extra points for singable-alongable-ness, while "Transit Lounge" can veritably be called clever in both execution and subject matter, with its self-deprecation and frankness and layering of snippets of language and a nice performance by a female vocalist.
"You Are the One to Make Me Cry" seems to realize that the album is winding down, and builds an air of nostalgia using, once again, violin. Once again, one of the impressive aspects of Finn's work is how easily he incorporates a variety of instruments into his arrangements with ease so that they're effective but unobtrusive. "People Are Like Suns" is almost Keane-ish, with a slow and lovely piano arrangement and haunting, melancholy vocals (which the whole album is shot through with). This is what a good rock album should sound like; it avoids all the cliched pitfalls of the genre. Time on Earth is solid, thought-provoking, simplistic and lovely through-and-through.
-elln
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