Surprising
Gregory Josh Matheny | Napoleon, Ohio | 05/11/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Very Different from the other Finch album, I belive. I at first, didnt like it so much. But I was drawn to several strong tracks like Rodderick Usher and Reduced to Teeth... so I kept Listening to the entire album, Slowly the songs came together and it felt GREAT to listen to it. I like it alot now, and Reduced to Teeth is on my top 100 on my Ipod. Good Song. They couldve lost some fans with this album, and they coulda gained some more. Who knows? I Dont. I Dont watch MTV and even if I did watch Fuse or anything else, would Finch really be played? Too much rap. Anyway.... back to my point.
If you like Finch, pick it up! Whatre you waiting for?! Want intuitive Emo music? Pick it up!
Just do it."
Like Incubus remaking "Angel Dust"
Jason Harrington | Little Rock, AR | 12/28/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I was addicted to their first album, but as a 31 year old man I find that embarrasing to admit, as it could easily be summarized as baby-Glassjaw meets a poor man's Blink 182. Whereas now they mostly resemble a much heavier Incubus trying to make complex songs with many vocal parts poorly emulating the flawless Faith No More classic "Angel Dust." However, despite the lameness of that description, somehow this really works for me and helps me to let go of "What it is to Burn." I could even say that this somehow manages to encapsulate the parts of Incubus sound that make me hesitate at first before changing the radio station (I don't like them). And while their FNM side is embarrasingly underdeveloped by comparison to the real thing (pun intended), once again they avoided parts of that band that should not be resurected (IE: the funk-metal slap bass and sudo-rap). I say that with only the utmost respect for Mike Patton in all his many incarnations. These young dudes would get their salad tossed if they ever so much as pretended to compete with Patton's work on any level. Patton's voice is just much bigger and more grandiose sounding than these kids. However, if you can get past their poor attempts to emulate their influences, the CD really is not bad at all among today's music and I'm far less embarrased by it than I was their previous album. I don't think the comparisons to Linkin Park or System of a Down are fair at all. In some ways this is a little Nu-metal-ish I can admit, but with obvious influences from Incubus and Faith No More, I guess they can join the legions. However, This clearly stands out against the leaders in that genre, and seems more akin to the sound of Thrice & maybe "He Is Legend." It sure is more creative (though slightly less heavy overall) than Mudvayne, Statik X, Slipknot, Korn, etc. Make of it what you will."
Finch's "In Utero"
J. C. Dunn | Middle East | 09/06/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Alright, I know this may draw some criticism, but I'm going to compare Nirvana and Finch. Hopefully it makes sense.
'What It Is To Burn' was awesome, no denying it. Great riffs, great lyrics, melodies, and hooks. A nearly flawless album, much like Nirvana's 'Nevermind.' Almost every song could have been a single. Each song was individually strong.
'Say Hello To Sunshine,' at first listen, I, like most you, thought, what the hell happened? I don't know if Finch went into the recording process with the intention of doing a complete 180, and almost in a sense distancing themselves from the 'pop' and 'sing-along' appeal their previous work. Maybe they thought it wasn't the best representation of their sound, who knows, but I think the result is much stronger...it just might take a few lessions to fully appreciate it. Listening to Nirvana's 'In Utero' was similar...a complete 180, stripped-down, raw, angry, and far from polished and 'perfect' sounding.
Long gone is the polished production quality, the 'sing along' type choruses that you could sense were coming next. What you have is a raw, stripped-down, aggressive album. Plain and simple. You'll find odd-time signatures all over the place, with some unusual twists and turns throughout songs.
'What It Is To Burn' might have the stronger individual songs, and the choruses you remember, but I feel 'Say Hello To Sunshine' is a greater body of work."