Neil & Liam Finn – Lightsleeper (2LP)

Album Info Hide Show Artist: Neil & Liam Finn Album: Lightsleeper Released: Europe, 2018 Tracklist: A1 Prelude – Island Of Peace A2 Meet Me In The Air A3 Where’s My Room B1 Listen B2 Any Other Way B3 Back To Life C1 Anger Plays A Part C2 Troubles C3 Hiding Place D1 Ghosts D2 We Know What It Means D3 Hold Her Close Info About Buying Vinyl From Our Record Store We are a small independent record store located at 211 High St, Preston in Melbourne, Australia (North of Northcote, between Thornbury & Reservoir) We buy and sell new and used vinyl records – if you have a collection you’d like to sell please click here . We ship Australia wide for a flat rate of $10 for standard shipping or $15 for express post. Free Shipping for orders $150 and over. You can also pick up your order in store, just select Local Pickup at the checkout. We also ship internationally – prices vary depending on weight and location. We ship vinyls in thick, rigid carboard mailers with a crushable zone on either side, and for extra safety we bubble wrap the records. In stock vinyl is usally shipped next business day, please check the availability field at the top of the product page to see whether the record is currently in stock or if it is available from the supplier as well as estimated shipping times. If you order an in stock item together with a pre order or back order (listed as available from supplier rather than in stock) then the order will be shipped together when all items arrive. If you would like the in stock items shipped first please place two separate orders or contact us to arrange shipping items separately. We are strongly committed to customer satisfaction. If you experience any problems with your order contact us so we can rectify the situation. If the record arrives damaged or doesn’t arrive we will cover the cost of replacing or returning the record. If you change your mind you have 30 days to return your record but you must cover the cost of returning it to the store. You can contact our Melbourne record shop at (03) 9939 3807 or at [email protected] Happy Listening! Description Hide Show Lightsleeper feels like a late night conversation that slipped into song. Neil Finn and his son Liam make a record that leans into their strengths, then nudges them sideways, so the familiar sparkle of Neils songwriting meets Liams playful studio instincts. It is a family album in every sense, recorded mostly at Roundhead Studios in Auckland, and you can hear the room, the chairs scraping, the ease between voices that have been singing together since the kid was tall enough to look over a guitar case. The opener sets the tone with close harmonies and a gentle thrum, but it is Back to Life that really lands the first big moment. It has that uplift Neil has always handled so well, a chorus that rises like a window being pushed all the way open. The production is tactile, little synth pulses tucked among acoustic guitars, a bassline that hugs the melody. Liams fingerprints are there in the textures and the way the vocals sit, slightly dreamlike but never cloudy. If you have been following him since Betchadupa, you will recognize the fondness for small odd details that pull a song off center just enough to make it interesting. Meet Me in the Air might be the song that captures the collaboration best. Neils voice carries the melody with that high, steady calm, while Liam braids around him, then the arrangement expands with a woozy glide that suggests a room full of pedals waiting to be tripped. It is gorgeous and slightly haunted. Wheres My Room scratches the other itch, a wiry, anxious tune with a playful snarl, as if they wanted to throw the curtains open and then immediately slam them shut again. The record keeps toggling like that, from lullaby to static burst, which makes repeat listens rewarding. You stop anticipating where the next chorus lands and just let the songs breathe. Part of the charm is the cast. Lightsleeper features contributions from Sharon Finn and Elroy Finn, and there is a relaxed, lived in pulse to the playing that suggests family shorthand. Mick Fleetwood shows up as well, and the way his drums step in and out of the arrangements adds a grounded swing. It is a neat footnote that later in 2018 Neil would join Fleetwood Mac on tour, but here you hear their rapport in a more intimate setting. The performances never feel like celebrity cameos. Everything serves the songs. Lyrically, the record looks inward and stays gentle even when it brushes on shadows. There is worry in these tunes, also warmth. Lines about distance, sleepless nights, the tilt between parent and child, how those roles can flip in an instant. The title fits. A lightsleeper hears every creak in the house, every bike on the street, and that sensitivity shows up in the music. Small instruments are micd close. Quiet ideas are allowed to stay quiet. As a piece of Neil Finns catalog, this sits comfortably next to his more spectral solo work rather than the punch of early Crowded House. Still, the melodic craft is unmistakable. As a portrait of Liam, it underlines his ear for color and feel, the way he can make a room hum. Together they avoid the novelty trap. This is not a family jam stapled to a release date. It is a considered album with its own mood and momentum. On vinyl, the blend of acoustic instruments and light electronics really breathes. The low end on Back to Life rolls out with more depth, and those harmonies on Meet Me in the Air bloom in a way digital files tend to clip. If you are the kind of person who goes looking for Neil Finn vinyl on a quiet Saturday, this is one of those records you spin straight through, then flip again. Lightsleeper vinyl is still findable, and it pairs nicely with the softer corners of Neil Finn albums on vinyl from the 90s and Liams solo work. I have seen copies tucked in the NZ section at a Melbourne record store and floating around bins that specialize in vinyl records Australia, but you can also buy Neil Finn records online without much hunting. What lingers is how humane the whole thing feels. No big posture, no need to overcomplicate. Father and son, a family studio, friends dropping by, songs that glow at the edges. Lightsleeper invites you in, then keeps the lamp low so you can find your own way through. It is a small, beautifully made record, and it sticks. Product Reviews Hide Show Write a Review