Neil Finn fronts a trip-hop band. Need I say more? Not to be confused with Liam Finn (that's his son), this is the guy who sang for Crowded House. The chick on backing vocals? His wife, Sharon. Okay, maybe trip-hop is too harsh. Funky electro-informed groove rock akin to the Gorillaz. In ballady moments they can pull off an able Bowie. I thought of RAM (Paul McCartney) quite often. This shit would make Damon Albarn blush.

try: 3, 1, 9
FCC: 6 (play after hours, it's good)

*1. (3:36) funky hooky old time plonk groove that would have been at home on paul mccartney's ram. super slinky. sweet and sexy chorus.
2. (3:52) disco beat, trip-hop. dancey bass, glam vox. alternately warm and harsh. marr plays guitar on this (and #7).
*3. (2:38) faaat and smarmy. deep bass and sparse electric, sneering vox. a brutal and irresistable riff makes this my fave, despite the brief run time.
4. (5:15) soft airy start, then a pushy beat under warm electric. haunty crowded house harmonies. bears a superficial resemblance to that song "jealous enemies" (or "aerials" by system of a down, if you want to go there). wow, you'll never play this now.
5. (3:18) sparse and echoey. lone sustain-on etudey electric guitar, simon & garfunkel high eerie harmonies. could be them or pink floyd. minimal drums 2 min in.
6. (3:54) FCC "fucked up" surf guitar meets glam pop? swaggering beat, swaying sunshine harmonies that sound like they came out of three decades at once. "hey man, it's all right to have a good time." some of the coolest synth effects i've heard in a while.
7. (3:46) muted bass, mock-sexy female vox. funny and fun glam chorus. on par with "the distance" (cake) for chintz points. "are you idiots? are you ready for me?" it's like the sneaker pimps making fun of themselves.
8. (3:38) mid-slow, space oddity vibe, swirl effects, orb-drop bass. bowiesque vox.
*9. (4:34) great engaging drum kit. subtle discordant yet surfy minor. old l.a. guitars, new wavey achey vox, emotional and lush melody. a strainer. solo and vamp action for the last 2 minutes, early fade.
10. (3:42) trip-hop. downtempo. skippy scratch effects, interrupt bass, eerie choral backdrop.
11. (5:15) boppy midtempo sunshine pop. shrilly sustained keys, then a simple beatlesy groove. pompy raw guitar, electric keys, blow-out bass.