Crowded House release new single Teenage Summer ahead of album launch

Neil Finn of Crowded House performs at Spark Arena on March 19, 2021 in Auckland. Photo / Dave Simpson / WireImage

Crowded House, Neil Finn’s rock band, have just revealed a second taste of their new album, Gravity Stairs, with the new single Teenage Summer.

Gravity Stairs, their eighth studio album, will be available worldwide on May 31 via BMG.

Te Awamutu-born Finn said the new single was formerly called Life’s Imitation but had now curiously been renamed Teenage Summer.

“My grandson Manaia told me Teenage Summer was one of his favourite songs.

“He’d identified the peak moment in the song, and a light went on. It’s that simple: the children must be heard.”

Produced by the band with Steven Schram (Paul Kelly, San Cisco), Gravity Stairs shows Crowded House in its current incarnation – Finn, Nick Seymour, Mitchell Froom and Finn’s sons Elroy and Liam.

Crowded House's eighth studio album Gravity Stairs will be released on May 31. Image / Crowded House

Finn said the album title was inspired by an unnaturally heavy stone staircase near where he holidays.

“The ‘gravity stairs’ are symbolic of the struggle to ascend, acknowledging the opposing forces of weight on the mechanics of living. It’s an act of will every day.”

Crowded House have sold over 15 million records worldwide, as well as having earned 13 Aria Awards, an MTV VMA and a Brit Award. The band have generated billions of streams, consistently sold out tours on multiple continents and have been captivating audiences for nearly four decades.

Founded by Finn, Seymour and the late Paul Hester, the group’s self-titled debut in 1986 went platinum, uplifted by iconic smash hits Something So Strong and Don’t Dream It’s Over, which have since been covered by Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande and U2, among others.

In 1996, the group delivered a legendary performance to an audience of over 150,000 on the steps of the Sydney Opera House, beginning a hiatus that finished after Hester’s passing in 2005.

This led to albums Time on Earth (2007) and Intriguer (2010), and a return to the Sydney Opera House for three unforgettable nights.

In 2018, Finn joined Fleetwood Mac as a full-time member, travelling the globe on a massive world tour.

Two years later he and Seymour led another era of Crowded House, forming the band’s current line-up.

They issued their first full-length offering in 11 years, the unanimously acclaimed Dreamers Are Waiting (2021), and the band leapt into a rapturous world tour in support.

From joining his brother Tim as part of “new wave” favourites Split Enz to leading Crowded House and his numerous solo efforts, Finn’s varied body of work is connected by his knack for penning meticulous, indelible melodies and impressionistic lyrics that demand multiple listens.

The record can be pre-saved and/or pre-ordered at crowdedhouse.lnk.to/GravityStairsPR.