Pajama Club
www.pajamaclubmusic.com
God only knows what New Zealand are putting in their wine these days, but it’s obviously good; good enough to inspire a middle-aged rock star like Neil Finn and his wife Sharon to start jamming away one night after sharing a bottle or two. And good enough to make them boogie around their living room while listening back to the taped results a few evenings later. Because that’s exactly how their latest project Pajama Club came into fruition. Cheers!In recent years, Crowded House’s critics have accused the reformed band of playing it too safe. No one could say that of Pajama Club, however, which consists of Neil, Sharon (fact: normally to be found running her Auckland-based chandelier shop, Sharondelier), and friends Sean Donnelly (synth, guitar and vocals) and Alana Skyring on drums. With Neil tackling a combo of guitars, vocals and occasional drums, and the missus on bass and vocals, they’ve managed to come up with a collection of tracks that sounds loose, funky and experimental, without abandoning Neil’s ear for a good tune. 'Can’t Put It Down Until It Ends' and 'Daylight' are particularly pleasing. The former is a smooth groove with an evocative oriental flavour, while the latter is a weird glammy stomp, topped with pleasantly soaring vocals.
This will surprise anyone who thought Finn was coasting on creative cruise control…
This will surprise anyone who thought Finn was coasting on creative cruise control…
Chris Twomey
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