Liam Finn - I'll Be Lightning (Transgressive) Transgressive is one of those labels that's been painfully hip since its emergence a few years back; to date I've never found any of its acts particularly enthralling, but this debut album from New Zealander Liam Finn (son of Crowded House frontman Neil Finn) has changed that. Finn is a lo-fi singer-songwriter with a pop suss that marks him way above indie losers like Graham Coxon and Stephen Malkmus (who he'll inevitably get compared with). Crucially, Finn doesn't sound like an indie kid who stills fears pop (though you suspect his keen ear for a melody may well have been inherited). Highlights then? Opener ‘Better To Be’ is simple, jaunty and irrepressibly catchy, but ‘I’ll Be Lightning’ is not just bog-standard rock though - 'Second Chance' starts as the sort of lo fi retrofest that Richard Swift does so well (before surprisingly giving way to some impassioned rocking out), and some experimental leanings here and there suggest that Finn doesn’t always choose the path of least resistance. There's moving semi-balladry here too, all shot through with lush vocal harmonies - 'Gather To The Chapel' is warm and tender; 'Fire In Your Belly' is wistful and moving (with spacey guitar sounds used to great effect). At fourteen tracks it could do with trimming a touch (songs like 'Lead Balloon' are just bland) but that's just a small gripe really when set in the context of an exceptionally confident and assured debut. www.liamfinn.tv Marc S. Review originally published by CMU Music Network www.cmumusicnetwork.co.uk