With the release of Lightsleeper,Neil & Liam Finn have revealed a stirring visual
treatment, Anger Plays A Part on Billboard.
Their first album together is out today on Inertia Music / [PIAS].
The video for Anger Plays A Part, directed by Alex & Anthony, explores idealisation,
resentment and anger, viewed through the lens of a child. The video acts as a
commentary on a child’s greater perception and susceptibility to the emotions
of their elders, acting as a mirror to remind us that anger unchecked can never
be productive.
“We love the video Alex and Anthony made for this
song,” said Neil & Liam
“an uneasy pairing of
childhood innocence with social conformity. It’s an acknowledgement of how
under the surface of Western middle class living brews a frustration and
detachment that sometimes spills over into anger, an unmistakeable warning sign
that there’s something wrong with our societal values.”“I wrote the song while living in New York - amidst
some frustration and anxiety over the writing process, it doesn’t make you the
most positive person to be around, and the ones closest normally cop it the
worst. I guess along with self-awareness comes the opportunity to better
yourself, and break the cycle, all the while acknowledging that feeling that
frustration and anxiety passionately can be an inspiring impetus to express
yourself.” - Liam told Billboard
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Watch Anger Plays A
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Recorded mainly in Neil's Auckland studio,
Lightsleeper bursts with melody and the trademark, euphoric flips that the Finn
family are known for. When Liam's lo-fi atmospherics meet Neil's iconic pop
sensibility, it's met with a feeling of intimacy and awe that makes it easy to
wonder why the dynamic father and son duo haven't written together, earlier.
The simple Finn family ethos of making music with friends and family continues
right through to the personnel recruited for the album; the touring band, Sharon
Finn - Neil's wife, and Liam's mother - plays bass on two of
the songs, Elroy Finn - Liam's brother - drums on seven; and good
friend
Connan Mockasin returns for four. Greek friends Elias
Dendias and Spiros Anemogianisbringplaintive bouzouki and accordion to
Back To Life, and legendary Mick
Fleetwood turns up to play on
Anger Plays A Part,
Any Other Way and
We Know What It Means.
The unmistakeable spirit - of musicians at their peak, bound together by
a still-hot desire to make music that isn't simply that year's work, but
something brewed up with bones, love, quiet revelation and the perfectly-evoked
euphoria of being alive - is what makes
Lightsleeper such a gorgeous progression
in the Finn family musical history.
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