Review: Neil Finn needs more harpsichord

It strikes you halfway through Four Seasons in One Day, during the instrumental break, when the swell of live orchestral strings replaces the brittle textures of the plucked keyboard that is a hallmark of the original.

The song, perhaps the Finn brothers' very best, a miracle of Beatlish harmony and melody, demands its psychedelic swirl. The 40-piece Auckland Philharmonia and 12-part choir give us a silky wash. But I want something more astringent, more abrasive, more harpsichord.

Neil Finn needs a more attentive audience, too. In the open-air Silo Park, as part of Auckland Arts Festival, less a crowded house and more a modestly filled grassy knoll, people were mostly subdued.

The first part of the concert comprises Finn's new album, Out of Silence. Photo / Nick Reed

It may be a lack of familiarity. The first part of the concert comprises Finn's new album, Out of Silence, the disc he recorded live in the studio and broadcast in real time online. It may be the album itself. There is, as you'd expect, some quality songcraft, Finn delighting with an ingenious change here, an unexpected turn there. The orchestral arrangements, provided by composer Victoria Kelly, good too.

But Out of Silence is rather one paced; it's all mid-tempo. During the concert Finn says, "This is the same as the last one". He's joking, of course, but it's true. In concert, as for the album, the highlight is the sepulchral Widow's Peak with APO percussionist Eric Renick producing some interesting effects and briefly playing vibraphone with a double bass bow.

Out of Silence was recorded over a four-hour session in his Auckland studio. Photo / Nick Reed

But the audience doesn't really get behind Finn until, almost an hour in, he abandons the piano and picks up a guitar for a reserved One Step Ahead. Its restraint is perfect, both balm and signpost to the song's underlying paranoia.

The biggest cheer is inevitably for closer Don't Dream It's Over. It doesn't fare quite so well as One Step Ahead. Finn's been doing this a long time, though, so even if the musical forces threaten to overwhelm this delicate, interior song, he knows he's sending his crowd home with a warm glow.

Tonight, he gets another shot, same time, same place; he'll be hoping to turn that glow into something fierier.

What:Neil Finn – Out of Silence (with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and special guests)
Where & when: Auckland Arts Festival Playground, Silo Park; Saturday at 8pm
Reviewed by Richard Betts​