Tim Finn - Imaginary Kingdom

One half of New Zealand's most revered brotherhoods, Tim Finn has been churning out some of the most outstanding pop music of the last two decades. This is true to such an extent that any of his productions will create a certain level of expectation. Vivid, catchy and warm; this album does not reinvent the wheel, but stamping 'Imaginary Kingdom' with 'Finn by numbers' would be unfair. It is an album filled with sentiment and within which Finn explores many of the ideals he values. The regretful tribute to Paul Hester, Dead Flowers, is classically poignant ("I know it had to end / But we could have ended better"). At times (see single Couldn't Be Done) Finn's work is heavily medicated and his edginess of yore seems to have been substituted for a frustrating languidness. Nonetheless, Tim Finn is growing old with a majesty that some could do well to imitate. [Finbarr Bermingham]