{"id":18420,"date":"2014-09-26T14:11:15","date_gmt":"2014-09-26T14:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-finch-back-to-oblivion\/"},"modified":"2018-03-17T15:08:34","modified_gmt":"2018-03-17T15:08:34","slug":"album-review-finch-back-to-oblivion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/album-review-finch-back-to-oblivion\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Finch – Back to Oblivion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"That \u2018Back To Oblivion\u2019<\/em> is only Finch<\/strong>\u2019s third album despite having been a band for the better part of a decade and a half is as clear an indication as any of their turbulent history. Having spent nearly as long disbanded in that time as they have together it\u2019s fair to say “Back From Oblivion” may have been a more fitting title. And with this offering coming a full nine years after Finch<\/strong>\u2019s last full length the weight of expectation is one the record was always likely to struggle to meet.<\/p>\n

Sadly \u2018Back To Oblivion\u2019<\/em> only sporadically comes close to living up to either this expectation or the band\u2019s former glories. Things open with the title track, a song which the Cali natives have been playing live for several months already, and perhaps unwisely see\u2019s the album kicking off with by far its strongest track creating a feeling that it has peeked before things have really got going. The track is punchy, enticingly melodic and has a big emphatic chorus worthy of the Finch<\/strong> of old. It also feels like the band have put all their efforts into loading the opener with all their urgency and feeling, leaving little to spare for many of the following tracks.<\/p>\n

\u2018Anywhere But Here\u2019<\/em> makes a half-hearted attempt to keep the battle going, showing plenty of scale to the sound and with a suitably frenetic riff cutting in in places, but Barcalow\u2019s vocals, so full of fire on the previous number, feel a little restrained considerably limiting the song\u2019s impact and making hard work of cutting above some good guitar work.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u2018Further From The Fight\u2019<\/em> starts with a near identical riff to the song before, and continues in a similar vein, highlighting one of the record\u2019s main issues, the songs not doing enough to differentiate themselves from each other, resulting in them merging into one rather indifferent listen for long stretches.<\/p>\n

Things get worse on \u2018Murder Me\u2019<\/em> as Finch<\/strong> shoot for atmospheric and moody and get listless and contrived, although the song does have the saving grace of Barcalow showing odd glimpses of his vocal potency. Meanwhile\u00a0\u2018Picasso Trigger\u2019<\/em> is a predictable and near cartoonishly stereotypical slice of post-hardcore complete with dreadful vocal effects. There\u2019s time for some more ill-advised faux brooding on \u2018Play Dead\u2019<\/em> before mercifully allowing the album to improve going into the second half.<\/p>\n

\u2018Two Guns To The Temple\u2019<\/em> gives a much needed reappearance to the fire, focus and backbone that its predecessors had been so badly lacking, packed full of energy and delivering a vocal loaded with passion and conviction as Barcalow finally lets his full vocal repertoire out to play. The improvement continues with \u2018The Great Devide\u2019<\/em> (yes that\u2019s how they spelt it) providing ‘Back to Oblivion’<\/em>\u2019s peppiest most accessible moment.<\/p>\n

After another couple of stronger offerings in the form of \u2018Us vs Them\u2019<\/em> and \u2018Tarot\u2019,<\/em> \u2018Back To Oblivion\u2019<\/em> staggers tiredly and tepidly to a close with the awkwardly structured \u2018New Wave\u2019<\/em> seguing clumsily between a post-hardcore epic and an acoustic balance with no particular finesse, guile or emotional output.<\/p>\n

It would have been great to say that \u2018Back To Oblivion\u2019<\/em> sees Finch<\/strong> put their differences in the past and hit top form, disappointingly instead this record is overly calculated, contrived and often too distant and listless to really connect with. Like Finch<\/strong>\u2019s career the album seems to peak to soon, and those looking to get into the band would be better with their earlier work rather than trying to gauge a band a shadow of what it once was.<\/p>\n

3\/5<\/p>\n

‘Back To Oblivion’<\/em> by Finch<\/strong> is released on 29th September on Spinefarm Records<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Finch<\/strong> links: Website<\/a>| Facebook<\/a>|Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by Dane Wright (@MrDaneWright<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That \u2018Back To Oblivion\u2019 is only Finch\u2019s third album despite having been a band for the better part of a decade and a half is as clear an indication as any of their turbulent history. 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