Gravity Stairs
| Gravity Stairs | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 31 May 2024 | |||
| Length | 40:40 | |||
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| Producer |
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| Crowded House chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Gravity Stairs | ||||
Gravity Stairs is the eighth studio album by Australian rock band Crowded House, released on 31 May 2024 through Lester Records and BMG Rights Management. It was preceded by the release of the lead single "Oh Hi" on 8 February 2024. The album received favourable reviews from critics.
Background[edit]
The band produced the album with Steven Schram,[3] with frontman Neil Finn stating that the band wanted to maintain a "dreamy quality" on the record yet be more "lyrically direct".[4] Lead single "Oh Hi" was inspired by Finn's work for the nonprofit organisation So They Can, which builds schools in remote areas of Kenya and Tanzania.[5] Finn named the album after a stone staircase near a place he vacations, which he compared to his mentality as a musician, calling the title a "metaphor for getting a little older and becoming aware of your own mortality, your own physicality" as there is "more determination needed to get to the top, but there's still the same compulsion to climb".[5] The cover art is a pastiche of the Beatles' 1966 album Revolver[6] drawn by Nick Seymour.[7]
Critical reception[edit]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 72/100[8] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Classic Rock |    [9] |
| Mojo | [10] |
| MusicOMH | [11] |
| Uncut | 6/10[12] |
Gravity Stairs received a score of 72 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic, which the website categorised as "generally favorable" reception.[8] Mojo's Andy Fyfe called the album "the most Crowded House thing that Crowded House have made in 30 years" as "'Teenage Summer', 'Oh Hi' and particularly 'All That I Can Ever Own' and 'The Howl' effortlessly withstand direct comparison with the band's mid-’90s peak".[10] John Murphy of MusicOMH summarised it as "a welcome reminder that the Finn family are still going strong, with upbeat, breezy numbers set against languid, deliberately paced tracks".[11]
Damian Jones of Classic Rock wrote that "gone (for the most part) are the familiar pop hooks that dominated [the band's] early records, exchanged for more thoughtful, complicated arrangements as frontman Neil Finn contemplates his own mortality".[9] Uncut felt that "Crowded House's eighth studio release ticks all the expected boxes. Pitch-perfect harmonies and inventive chord sequences abound. [...] Where it falls short, perhaps, is the absence of the full-blooded radio-friendly hits of old, although the shuffling 'All That I Can Ever Own' is a close cousin to 1993's 'Distant Sun'".[12]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Magic Piano" | Neil Finn | 4:46 |
| 2. | "Teenage Summer" | N. Finn | 4:47 |
| 3. | "The Howl" | Liam Finn | 3:26 |
| 4. | "All That I Can Ever Own" | N. Finn | 3:04 |
| 5. | "Oh Hi" | N. Finn | 2:59 |
| 6. | "Some Greater Plan (for Claire)" |
| 4:10 |
| 7. | "Black Water, White Circle" | N. Finn | 3:42 |
| 8. | "Blurry Grass" |
| 3:09 |
| 9. | "I Can't Keep Up with You" |
| 4:01 |
| 10. | "Thirsty" |
| 3:30 |
| 11. | "Night Song" | N. Finn | 4:12 |
| Total length: | 40:40 | ||
Notes
- On physical editions, "Teenage Summer" is titled "Life's Imitation".[13]
Personnel[edit]
Crowded House
- Elroy Finn – drums, guitar, keyboards, vocals, production
- Liam Finn – guitar, vocals, production
- Neil Finn – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, piano, production, bass on all tracks except "Night Song"
- Mitchell Froom – keyboards, production
- Nick Seymour – bass, keyboards, vocals, production, cover artwork
Additional contributors
- Steven Schram – production, mixing, electric guitar on "The Howl" and "I Can't Keep Up with You"
- Bob Ludwig – engineering
- Paul Taylor – percussion
- Sharon Finn – additional vocals on "Magic Piano" and "All That I Can Ever Own"
- Ladyhawke – additional vocals on "Teenage Summer"
- Tim Finn – additional vocals on "Some Greater Plan (for Claire)"
- Antonis Moriatis – bouzouki on "Some Greater Plan (for Claire)"
- Elias Dendias – bouzouki on "Some Greater Plan (for Claire)"
- Nassos Vlachos – guitar on "Some Greater Plan (for Claire)"
- Tryfon Baitsis – guitar on "Some Greater Plan (for Claire)"
- Lauryn Canny – additional backing vocals on "Black Water, White Circle", additional vocals on "Blurry Grass" and "Thirsty"
- Eliza-Jane Barnes – additional vocals on "Thirsty"
- Jimmy Metherell – additional vocals on "Thirsty"
- Zoe Moon – additional vocals on "Night Song"
References[edit]
- ^ "Crowded House Continue Album Rollout with 'Teenage Summer'". Rolling Stone. 12 April 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ "Crowded House Share 'The Howl' Video As New Album Arrives". Tanga Media Rock. 3 June 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
- ^ Mack, Emmy (16 February 2024). "Crowded House Announce Eighth Studio Album, Gravity Stairs". Music Feeds. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ "Crowded House's Neil Finn on New Album Gravity Stairs and Supporting Charity with "Oh Hi": Podcast". Consequence. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ a b Lochrie, Conor (16 February 2024). "Crowded House Announce Eighth Album Gravity Stairs". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ Sinclair, Paul (15 February 2024). "Crowded House / Gravity Stairs". Super Deluxe Edition. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ Finn, Neil. "Neil Finn: Crowded House, Gravity Stairs, & Influence of The Beatles". Retrieved 31 May 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b "Gravity Stairs by Crowded House Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ a b Jones, Damian (31 May 2024). ""Pianos play by themselves and dark forces conjure suspicious shadows": Crowded House make for uneasy listening on Gravity Stars". Classic Rock. Retrieved 5 June 2024 – via Loudersound.
- ^ a b Fyfe, Andy (31 May 2024). "Crowded House Gravity Stairs Review: Neil Finn and co. match up to their mid-90s peak". Mojo. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ a b Murphy, John (28 May 2024). "Crowded House – Gravity Stairs | Album Reviews". MusicOMH. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Crowded House – Gravity Stairs". Uncut. June 2024. p. 32.
- ^ Crowded House. Gravity Stairs (Media notes). Lester/BMG Rights Management.
