Liam Finn Eliza Jane Reviewed
February 8th 2010 12:24
New Zealand's Liam Finn, son of Crowded House and Split Enz frontman, Neil, is one of the most talented up & coming musicians/songwriters on the planet. Now teamed up with another famous name, Eliza-Jane Barnes, daughter of Aussie rock & roll legend, Cold Chisel's Jimmy, the two combine for one of the best live shows i have had the pleasure of watching.
Myself and one of my best mates were front and centre for their performance at the 2009/10 Falls Festival at Marion Bay, which we both agreed was a highlight of the festival, despite some high profile names on the bill. The reason was simple: despite temperatures above 30C, the passion they put into the performance was amazing, and really came through (peaking with the crazy stage dive by Finn late in the set) ... when it was over, it even looked like they didn't want to leave the stage! Stage banter between the two, as well as with the crowd, also gives a welcome insight into their personalities, something I always love to see. Finn is one of the best users of a loop pedal I have EVER seen (for the record, Jeff Lang is also up there) and inspired me to go out and splurge more than $500 on my own loop pedal. But its the fact that Finn is equally proficient on drums as he is on guitar that most impressed me. He would loop drums, play them back, pick up the Tele guitar and do a quick bass line, a few high-end bends for good measure, and launch into the song, switching whichever loops on and off with pure musical skill (and believe me, operating a loop certainly takes skill.) Then, he would start another with a guitar loop, and finish the song by bashing the shiit out of the drums live, creating an amazingly full sound given you only see two people on stage. It really was a pleasure watching this unfold, knowing that he would loop the tracks perfectly every time. EJ Barnes simply completes the act very well. Her vocals (which sometimes soar over Finn's) provide much needed female change, and some nice harmonies. She also plays percussion, autoharp, as well as other instruments. The highlight of their set at Falls would have to be Second Chance. Check it out as a live video on youtube if you haven't already.... Liam Finn - Second Chance
Today, I finally got my hands on Champagne In Seashells, the debut EP by Liam Finn and Eliza Jane. It is a fantastic little collection of songs.
Far from being pigeonholed as just "singer/songwriter music," Liam Finn and Eliza Jane Barnes have managed to make this EP sound more experimental than some previous songs, through the use of reversing, looping, and various other weird and wonderful effects (including monkey noises) while still having elements of pop indie rock. I guess you could say the songwriting is quite pop, while the deliverance is certainly more unique. This is definitely not a bad thing....I am really loving experimental effects at the moment, while I grew up on a diet of singer/songwriter music. Long Way To Go is the upbeat, crowd-favourite-type song of the bunch, while Plane Crash shows off all the skills and musicianship Finn and Barnes have developed. The loud, whiny, distorted guitar throughout Honest Face really threw me off-guard, but after I got used to it, I started to warm to it.
Overall, a very good demo by two young talents to keep an eye on in the future. With slots supporting the Pearl Jam tour along with Ben Harper here, their current form suggests that future may not be too distant!
Bren
P.S. For those who are interested, check out my band here The Save
Musical Royalty: Liam Finn & Eliza-Jane Barnes
Myself and one of my best mates were front and centre for their performance at the 2009/10 Falls Festival at Marion Bay, which we both agreed was a highlight of the festival, despite some high profile names on the bill. The reason was simple: despite temperatures above 30C, the passion they put into the performance was amazing, and really came through (peaking with the crazy stage dive by Finn late in the set) ... when it was over, it even looked like they didn't want to leave the stage! Stage banter between the two, as well as with the crowd, also gives a welcome insight into their personalities, something I always love to see. Finn is one of the best users of a loop pedal I have EVER seen (for the record, Jeff Lang is also up there) and inspired me to go out and splurge more than $500 on my own loop pedal. But its the fact that Finn is equally proficient on drums as he is on guitar that most impressed me. He would loop drums, play them back, pick up the Tele guitar and do a quick bass line, a few high-end bends for good measure, and launch into the song, switching whichever loops on and off with pure musical skill (and believe me, operating a loop certainly takes skill.) Then, he would start another with a guitar loop, and finish the song by bashing the shiit out of the drums live, creating an amazingly full sound given you only see two people on stage. It really was a pleasure watching this unfold, knowing that he would loop the tracks perfectly every time. EJ Barnes simply completes the act very well. Her vocals (which sometimes soar over Finn's) provide much needed female change, and some nice harmonies. She also plays percussion, autoharp, as well as other instruments. The highlight of their set at Falls would have to be Second Chance. Check it out as a live video on youtube if you haven't already.... Liam Finn - Second Chance
Today, I finally got my hands on Champagne In Seashells, the debut EP by Liam Finn and Eliza Jane. It is a fantastic little collection of songs.
Champagne In Seashells: rating....8.5/10
Tracklisting
1. Plane Crash
2. Long Way To Go
3, Won't Change My Mind
4. Honest Face
5. On Your Side
1. Plane Crash
2. Long Way To Go
3, Won't Change My Mind
4. Honest Face
5. On Your Side
Far from being pigeonholed as just "singer/songwriter music," Liam Finn and Eliza Jane Barnes have managed to make this EP sound more experimental than some previous songs, through the use of reversing, looping, and various other weird and wonderful effects (including monkey noises) while still having elements of pop indie rock. I guess you could say the songwriting is quite pop, while the deliverance is certainly more unique. This is definitely not a bad thing....I am really loving experimental effects at the moment, while I grew up on a diet of singer/songwriter music. Long Way To Go is the upbeat, crowd-favourite-type song of the bunch, while Plane Crash shows off all the skills and musicianship Finn and Barnes have developed. The loud, whiny, distorted guitar throughout Honest Face really threw me off-guard, but after I got used to it, I started to warm to it.
Overall, a very good demo by two young talents to keep an eye on in the future. With slots supporting the Pearl Jam tour along with Ben Harper here, their current form suggests that future may not be too distant!
Bren
P.S. For those who are interested, check out my band here The Save
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Comment by Alexander Bennetts
Noise & Words & Things & Shit
I love loop pedals and the potential they have. Evlyn Morris from Pikelet uses them a lot, lots of people like her but I only have one song (a Christmas song)...
But I love layered music, so loop pedals get a big thumbs up from me. Jordy and Jono use them in Paint Your Golden Face for drums, organ and vocals to create lovely build up of choir and drum rhythm.