Returning to solo action after an extended busman’s holiday,
Liam Finn consolidates the newfound strengths he developed while singing with Eliza Jane and playing with the Kiwi supergroup
Barb. In particular, 2011’s
Fomo retains a considerable amount of the spaciness of
Barb’s eponymous 2010 album, but where that album intentionally drifted, this is anchored by
Finn’s sharp songwriting, which still demonstrates a debt to his father
Neil. Often, the album plays like an elastic interpretation of
Try Whistling This, its textures stretching on waves of echoes and overdubbed harmonies, yet everything is always snapped back into focus by
Liam's gift for melody. His knack for hooks and his skill at construction may mirror that of his father, but
Liam Finn is his own man, displaying a keen fondness for psychedelia, and spending as much time crafting sound as song, resulting in a record that has enough hooks to pull a listener in on first spin, yet is dense enough to warrant decoding on subsequent plays. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine