Bastard

Up to this point, I have been arguing the thesis that Finneyerkes’ three albums, Gather & Sing, Without End, and Bastard, are best taken as a cohesive whole as opposed to three distinct albums. For the purposes of this present post, “up to this point” will be the operative phrase. I say this because, on the surface, the album Bastard seems to be an hour-long refutation of my theory. From the droning chimes that herald the start of “Cobain,” the album’s opener, to the supple atmospherics that saturate the last track, "Honeymoon at the Holocaust Museum," Bastard definitely explores musical textures not present on the prior releases. Don't misunderstand me, Bastard does not represent a sea change for the band, but it does place the burden of proof on this reviewer's shoulders. To that end, I offer the humble assertion that the albums are cohesive, not because they are similar in some readily apparent way, but because they all explore the same central motifs, but each in its own manner. Bastard finds the band shifting farther toward the ambient end of the spectrum. The mixing this time around seems to be more austere, the lone guitar tracks evoking images of desolate railroads and forgotten warehouses. However, one of the most salient features of Bastard is the absence of Matt Finney's voice. Initially, I found the dearth of Finney's warm and familiar intonations to be disheartening, but on repeated listens it seems evident that the integrity of the album was at the forefront of Finney's mind. The tracks on Bastard are very effective as instrumental pieces and it requires a great deal of artistic devotion to put the quality of the album above one's own ego. Make no mistake, Finneyerkes is no one-trick pony. Bastard proves unequivocally that the band possesses a vast musical palette, the beauty of which will only blossom further with future releases. Even so, it is with a bit of sadness that I make my closing remarks regarding this album, knowing that there are presently no more Finneyerkes albums for me to discover. But I am comforted by the fact that a very reliable source stated that there are new songs in the works. In the meantime, you can be certain that I will be revisiting these three albums often. Like the faces of childhood friends, they have seared themselves, indelibly, into my consciousness.

(Bastard is not currently available for download from the band's MySpace page, but you can download the album here. Stay tuned, this Friday (10/2/09), I will be posting my interview with Matt Finney. You don't want to miss it.)