You can’t doubt the fact that good music takes time to write. Finlay Birch has been writing this album for nearly a decade now, and the effort put into getting all those details out really shows. The musician from Inverclyde is now based on the Isle of Mull and makes music that writes the scenes around him into a diary with ink. Birch might be one of those people who has had the same five leather-bound journals within which all these songs have been scribbled, toned, scratched, written, and rewritten. This is called Weight Will Unwind.
Tones that take you there
You’ll note absolutely stellar production from the moment you press play on Fly Us Both Away. Finlay Birch wants this to be your anti-gravity potion, something you can sip on and feel a certain level of weightlessness, intertwined with a healthy dose of escapism. An ambient sea of sound flows in the background as you can hear Birch’s vocals coming through with brilliant resolve. HBDN1 brings almost a Father John Misty vibe to the second track of the album. Finlay makes this seem like a live performance, as though he were singing this to you, plugged into a warm amp and splendid background during a rainy day.
Who says songwriting needs to be layered and complicated? There is a way to pick up an instrument to inspire someone who is listening. A way to compose as though every feeling in that moment is crystallised into one song. The title track might have quick chord changes as the light strings play along with Finlay Birch’s voice. Addition of the choir-like background is a heavenly touch to a song like this. When you’re listening to “Inside Your Mind,” he combines those relatable aspects along with being an idiosyncratic individual obsessed with music. It’s a line of thinking which not many people share yet becomes yours from the moment you listen to Birch play this song.
The real nature of music
I have absolutely adored the way Finlay has looked at nature and written about it like the poets of old would. Whether it’s the birds, the river, or the feeling that he is able to transpire from nature, wear headphones, and there’s a good chance he’ll be transported all the way there for free. I’ve heard many, many songs about the river, but what Birch has written is something that has hit me after a very long time. It’s the musician’s personality and how they connect to the river. The same way I felt it with Joni Mitchell’s “The River.”
From the unique choice of chords and elegant songwriting. Finlay Birch has a scrapbook somewhere that is filled with brilliant ideas like these. “Weight Will Unwind” is a perfect album, and it will ask you to revisit it in a short time. Until then, see you.
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