Finneas Hits Us Hard and Soft (And Kinda Self-Indulgent, but Also Pretty Sweet)
The second solo album from Finneas O’Connell opens with “Starfucker,” not a cover of the scandalous Rolling Stones tune, but something even more dubious — a melodramatic piano ballad complaint from a pop elite done wrong that oozes famous-guy self-pity. “Cartier around your wrist/I was such an optimist/But you were such a narcissist,” he intones as strings swell around him to pillow his pain. It’s not a very sympathetic start to the latest from Finneas, who made his fame creating world-changing music with his sister, Billie Eilish, and has gone to amass his own impressive pedigree as a pop collaborator, producer, and film score composer. Luckily, though, the rest of For Cryin’ Out Loud goes down much more agreeably, the work of a popcraft savant with a light, versatile touch.
Finneas’ 2021 debut, Optimist, came with the ambition you might expect from a behind-the-scenes talent looking to make his own statement, with thoughtful songs like the Covid-themed “A Concert Six Months From Now.” This time out, he isn’t as burdened by big gestures. Some the album echoes the shadowy, finely burnished alt-pop of Billie’s excellent 2024 album Hit Me Hard and Soft, albeit with a less engrossing presence at its center. “Lotus Eater” is a sleek, Eighties-tinged heartburn with a blurry bassline and a vaulting melody. The spare, acoustic intimacy of “Little Window” has the feel of an old Feist or Bon Iver mumble-folk benediction. “Same Old Story” opens as a mopey solo-piano number and grows into a sweeping studio-stud showcase that doesn’t feel cluttered.
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There are lighter moments, too, where the music opens up and breathes more calmly. “Cleats” is so smooth it doesn’t get tripped up in its own awkward soccer conceit (“she plays for the other team,” he sings, “but it’s all the same to you”). Songs like “Sweet Cherries” and “2001” are elegant enough to be soul-kissed deep cuts on a Harry Styles album.
Like most gifted writers and producers who are better at helping others realize their vision than coaxing out one of their own, Finneas’ solo work comes off more like a killer job application than an argument for a unique artistic perspective. Perhaps it’s fitting, then, that the most emotionally realized song on the album is a very sweet acoustic meditation on his sibling friendship with Billie — their shared memories, his protective feelings for her, and the deep, unique bond they share. If you’re not lucky enough to have that kind of relationship in your life, “Family Feud” will make you wish you did. That alone justifies this record’s existence, and Finneas’ well-earned fame, starfuckers notwithstanding.
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