Crowded House @ SECC

Over a decade after they bid 'Farewell to the World' with a bombastic send off at Sydney Opera House, the re-introduction of Crowded House - now comprised of Neil Finn, Nick Seymour and Mark Hart with new drummer Matt Sherrod (REM, Beck) - has, apart from brief mainstream acknowledgments at Coachella festival and Live Earth, been a relatively low key affair. Despite the odd glimmer of magic, the new songs from what began as Finn's third solo venture before it turned into the band's full-blown rebirth, Time on Earth, are no different. Finn sets a high standard for himself though and matching the dizzy heights of his most recent work with his elder, Tim, was always going to be a task.

Devoid of those euphoric Finn Brother harmonies this new LP might be, but tonight the hits are dominant enough to eclipse any such misgivings. The Arena chat, however, is a different ballgame entirely as the flamboyant Seymour bents himself on hogging the spotlight with his Taggart impressions. The jovial St. Andrew's night patter might be delivered in a ramshackle drunken uncle fashion, but the VH1 classics are all about precision; Weather with You charms the SECC to its feet and World Where You Live still plays out like the master class in soulful pop rock that Snow Patrol forgot to take. Lukewarm comeback LPs aside, tonight yields fair evidence that Crowded House's time on earth continues to serve them well. [Johnny Langlands]