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To say that Finn is a lyricist of uncommon humanity, not to mention one possessed of a fine attention to detail, is to understate the case. On Clear Heart Full Eyes, he shrouds his tales of foolish people lost on long wanderings on the inexpensive side of the tracks with music that is less dense than that offered by The Hold Steady. That band has been described by American Psycho author and alt-punk expert Bret Easton Ellis as being the finest group in the United States; their sound is a tough one to better. Fans of the group will identify with Finn’s solo flight in no small part due to the distinctive treble-heavy voice and narrative style, but songs such as the sparse Apollo Bay – which sees the narrator drunk on similarly treble-heavy Victoria Bitter in Australia – and the gentle Not Much Left of Us offer something different from the author’s usual work.
But as fine as the music on offer here happens to be – and often it’s very fine indeed – it is Finn’s sense of humanity in lyrical form that really sets this album apart. "From the way you picked up the phone, I could tell you weren’t going to die / February is as long as it is wide," is the opening sentiment of No Future, and an early contender for couplet of the year. Elsewhere figures as diverse as Freddie Mercury and John Lydon are thrown into the mix, characters listen to Ozzy Osbourne and KISS in studio apartments, as well as a whole host of city-dwellers whose lives are led on the serrated edge that separates good people from bad. It is these people, and the fact that their creator has sufficient skill to humanise them and have the listener care about their fate, that makes Clear Heart Full Eyes a work of understated beauty.
--Ian Winwood
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On first hearing, it's understandable why Craig Finn's debut solo record was never going to be a Hold Steady album. The small screen Americana that the band play, and excel at - something that coalesces the rock `n' roll abandon of prime-time Replacements with the short stories of Richard Ford - simply doesn't apply on "Clear Heart Full Eyes". Instead Finn brings calmness and a quiet quirkiness to his songs, and lets his words run without confinement.
In interviews he's spoken about songwriters who have stirred his imagination, and a desire to strip back the bluster - though The Hold Steady peddle some of the finest bluster around. Here he sounds like a writer totally familiar with the prime movers of the Texas songwriting tradition; Guy Clark, Townes van Zandt, Blaze Foley, etc., together with various new Dylans, including John Prine and Steve Goodman. There's never been any doubting his songwriting prowess, right from the early days of "Almost Killed Me", and here he gets the chance to put his words front and centre. My favourites are many, and I must draw attention to the chugging "No Future" - Freddie Mercury and Johnny Rotten so rarely get to be in the same song together, even Neil Young only managed to squeeze one of them in - and "New Friend Jesus", where Finn get's to talk about his new pal, all to a rather glorious country groove.
I'm pleased to say that it deserves much more attention than that, with Mr Finn delivering a great, understated set
that includes a few tracks that wouldn't be out of place on a HS album, but a few that certainly would.
The laid-back country stylings on Balcony and Western Pier compliment Finn's stories superbly, allowing his lyrics more space to breathe.
A unexpected triumph.
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