The new album boasts warm tones with a spring-time feel, and is brimming with tales of love, life and loss.
Only months after the release of the group’s sixth album Stonewalling, Melbourne blues-rockers Finn has just shared their latest album, Mayrose.
The album is recorded during the same sessions as Stonewalling at Sing Sing Studios in South Yarra, but giving listeners a noticeably different feel, journeying into some folkier-laid back stylings, showing us the talented musicians they are.
The group’s ability for storytelling isn’t lost on this release, it’s 12 tracks full of stories that’ll draw you in and never let you go. The band don’t waste any time showing us their prowess on their respective instruments.
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With Stonewalling dealing with content around current events like Donald Trump and COVID-19, Mayrose instead focuses on day to day stories and emotions, with the entire album playing out as an experience – it’s made to be listened to in full.
‘Here It Comes’ opens Mayrose, which is a happy saunter through a day in the life of the song’s protagonist – the major key and catchy hooks are bound to put a smile on your face. ‘Here It Comes’ is the ideal album opener – it sets the tone for the remainder of Mayrose, this, coupled with the closer ‘Victory Song’ are like buns of a burger, they perfectly house the extraordinary experience this album takes you on.
The feel-good vibes carry through to ‘Baby Girl’, a track that again, takes us on another lyrical journey through the mind of frontman Mark Finn. The stream of consciousness style lyrics coupled with country-rock guitars makes for a distinctly awesome track.
The following track, ‘Roll On’ feels almost like a continuation of ‘Baby Girl’, building on musical motifs and carrying on with the country vibes, thus making you long for the day where you can catch this on a live stage somewhere.
Things turn down a little bit for ‘Come And Play’, a predominately acoustic track that features the laid back vocals of Melbourne vocalist Tess Hannah, who gives the track a folky vibe, once again, showing the listener the high-quality songwriting ability of the group.
The country – esque vibes fall through to ‘Believe In You’, where each instrument is perfectly manicured and creates a sort of sonic family that brings the track together nicely. You’ll feel like the group are sitting around you, singing it to you.
‘Serenade’ is the perfect song for summer – the laid back guitar and vocals will transport you to a laid back hot afternoon, you’ll want to grab a cold one and head to the beach.
The laid back stylings continue through ‘Longest Day’, a stellar lesson in storytelling from the group, finishing off with a beautiful, quaint solo, truly making a high point for the album, every word is sung with an infectious amount of emotion.
‘Twilight’ slows things down even further, the ballad pairing only vocals and piano for an emotional three minutes and six seconds, showing the listener how versatile the group is, and it’s yet another track with a bunch of emotion – you’ll have tears in your eyes, and draw you in with every lyric he sings.
Tess Hannah returns for the track ‘Everyday’, yet another quaint and ornate track that gets deep into the emotion and lyrical content. With limited instrumentation, you really connect to the words they are saying. The vocals of Tess Hannah and Mark Finn connect really well, their harmonies are bound to make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.
After journeying through some more emotional music, ‘Struck By You’ is yet another feel-good track that’s bound to put a smile on your face. Some blues-rock stylings return through electric guitar wailing, but it sticks with the acoustic sound that’s worked well for them across the last few tracks, and once again, this helps you get drawn into the group’s lyrics and great storytelling technique.
Mayrose’s penultimate instrumental track ‘Freetime’ has some old school vibes to it, and really furthered the idea that this album is an experience – one that is made to be listened to in full, and is the perfect buffer before the amazing outro, calming the listener down before album’s over.
‘Victory Song’ is the perfect way to close out the listening experience that has been Mayrose. It’s got elements of everything we’ve heard in the last 11 tracks, juxtaposed for a great outro. There’s beautiful harmonies, slide guitar, and phenomenal lyrics, the best of Finn in a single track.
Inspired by the likes of George Harrison, Electric Light Orchestra and Nick Drake, Finn’s Mayrose is an enjoyable journey through genres, and an emotional experience that isn’t heard much anymore. The placement of the release’s 12 tracks have clearly been perfectly thought out, the cohesiveness is truly unforgettable – there aren’t many albums that achieve what Mayrose does.
The four-piece are some of the country’s most talented musicians, and Mayrose shows us how.
Check out the album below. For more info on the band, head here. The band will be performing at the Toff in Town on November 25, you can get tickets here.
