CRAIG FINN - Always Been

Craig Finn is a refined songwriter and musician who narrates America with a novelistic, gripping style, even more so when he steps outside his role as a member of the Hold Steady, the Brooklyn band that has often suffered from comparisons to an American alt-rock scene rich in greats, from Ryan Adams to Wilco, while still retaining a credibility that keeps pace with his own leader's natural creative ups and downs.

After the excellent “A Legacy Of Rentals”, produced by Josh Kaufman and D. James Goodwin, Craig Finn picks his solo path back up with the collaboration of Adam Granduciel and his fellow travelers in War On Drugs, also bringing in two notable guests in Sam Fender and Kathleen Edwards.

The eleven tracks on “Always Been” deal with religion and family life, all filtered through the perplexed gaze of a priest gripped by doubt and uncertainty about his own faith: the shift from spiritual reflection to the questioning of one's own beliefs is marked out by the album's first two songs. The placid, unremarkable “Bethany” glides along on comforting piano notes and a plain narrative, while “People Of Substance” (the single that preceded the album) stirs things up with energetic rhythmic and guitar work that offers a first taste of Craig Finn's new sonic dimension; the lyrics forcefully open the door to doubt and the presence of the devil.

As in any good story where good and evil are locked in perpetual conflict, the tension rises and the songs take shape. The range of emotions and sensations animating the more elaborate, abrasive “Crumbs” and the pained ballad “Shamrock” are two episodes to file among the American musician's finest.

But not everything works out on “Always Been”; nothing serious, really, but the contrast between the vibrant, War On Drugs-style pop sounds and Finn's static vocal timbre doesn't always come off. Songs like “Luke & Leana” and “A Man Needs A Vocation” lose depth and substance, and the sonic hybridization calls to mind the Cars, but without the disenchantment and irony that made Ric Ocasek's songs so sharp and witty.

There are plenty of moments where the cross-pollination works beautifully instead. The six minutes of “Postcards” are excellent in this regard: the vocal duet with Sam Fender, the Tom Petty-style solo and the alluring instrumental coda brand this as the most successful episode of the creative pairing between Finn and Granduciel. Even the more typical “The Man I’ve Always Been” boasts modern sonic nuances, and it's admirable how the introduction of electronics doesn't strip away the intimacy and trepidation from the delicate ballad “Clayton”.

The rapport between musician and producer works even more brilliantly in the hybridization of electronic minimalism and spoken word on “Fletcher’s”, the pivotal centerpiece of a bold project that, minor uncertainties aside, confirms Craig Finn's renewed creativity.

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08/04/2025