Album Review

The Finest Hour – These Are The Good Old Days

• 1st Oct 2012

Lincolnshire lads The Finest Hour have produced a very interesting debut album. It shows a wide range of influences on their music, with indie, rock, punk and ska all clearly discernible. The album marks them as a young band with talent. But while it starts off very well, a decent indie rock sound coming through, unfortunately it then meanders off in several different directions.

Now I’m not one to criticise a band for variety in their music. After all who wants an album where every track sounds the same? But as an album These Are The Good Old Days somehow ends up feeling more like a collection of demo songs from a band seeking direction.

The opening Never Heard Of Dylan is perhaps the best track on the album. It tells of a girlfriend who does not know the words but sings along anyway. Lyrically it is very clever, if a little quirky, and the indie guitar sound is solid. Lead singer Paul Kavanagh has a smooth tone and his heavily accented vocals are a nice change from the mid Atlantic drawl that too many bands adopt.

The next few songs are decent too. Janey is a decent song about the end of a relationship, if a little repetitive. Calverly Road has strong vocals over a fine drum beat and picks up the pace a little. And Reasons To Complain features some good guitar work that lifts a rather pedestrian song, again with repetitive lyrics.

Things change direction though, with the ska of Pocket Change. The organ and harmonies are decent although the sound is a little rough in places and the overall effect isn’t good. Crooked Little Line follows, a ninety second acoustic track that stops abruptly. It’s actually a decent song, or at least it could become one, but instead it feels like a half finished demo dropped into the middle of the album by mistake.

Control takes us back to rock territory. A feedback heavy two guitar intro sets the scene well before the vocals come in. This one has a nice hook and a good chorus, getting the album back onto track. The Finest Hour can clearly write some good rock songs. But then Keep Your Chin Up Kid heads back into ska territory, this time complete with a brass section leading to a rather confused sound that simply has too much going on.

The slower Turn Your Face Away and Feel The Same once more return to the guitar based sound that pretty much works. And the next track, See For Miles, would have made a fine album closer, full of energy and emotion. There is some great guitar in this one and the bass shines through for perhaps the first time. It would have ended the album on a high note, just as it had started.

Unfortunately the massive Indigo Night is the closer, and at over fourteen minutes long it just drags. There are some good sections within the mammoth track, with fine early bass work and great twin vocals that work well. But the extended instrumental sections and repeated lyrics take it well into self indulgent territory.

There are undoubtedly some good songs on These Are The Good Old Days, and the energy and commitment that this young band demonstrates at times is commendable. Overall it just doesn’t quite work for me as an album. The band’s core sound is good and it is the areas of experimentation that pull this one down.

I have a feeling that The Finest Hour will continue to grow and I look forward to hearing what comes next. It could just be that their second album is the one to put them on the musical map.