Gravity Stairs

The eighth studio album, named for a stone staircase near where Neil Finn vacations.
Crowded House, 2024

Released
31 May 2024
Label
Lester Records, BMG
Producer
Crowded House, Steven Schram

The band produced it with Steven Schram. Finn said they wanted to keep a dreamy quality but be more lyrically direct. He named the record after a stone staircase near a place he vacations, calling the title a metaphor for getting a little older and becoming aware of your own mortality. The lead single, Oh Hi, released on 8 February 2024, was inspired by his work for So They Can, a charity that builds schools in remote areas of Kenya and Tanzania. Seymour drew the cover as a pastiche of the Beatles' Revolver. On physical editions Teenage Summer is titled Life's Imitation.

Tim Finn adds vocals to Some Greater Plan (for Claire), Ladyhawke sings on Teenage Summer, and Paul Taylor plays percussion. Metacritic gave the album 73 from five reviews. Uncut said that All That I Can Ever Own is a close cousin to Distant Sun from 1993, and John Murphy of musicOMH called the album a welcome reminder that the Finn family are still going strong. The album was nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Album at the 2024 ARIA Music Awards, and the band and Schram were nominated for Best Produced Release.

Track listing

  1. Magic Piano
  2. Teenage Summer
  3. The Howl
  4. All That I Can Ever Own
  5. Oh Hi
  6. Some Greater Plan (for Claire)
  7. Black Water, White Circle
  8. Blurry Grass
  9. I Can't Keep Up with You
  10. Thirsty
  11. Night Song

Personnel

More from Crowded House

Crowded House (1986), Temple of Low Men (1988), Woodface (1991), Together Alone (1993), Recurring Dream (1996), Time on Earth (2007), Intriguer (2010), Dreamers Are Waiting (2021)

Sources

  1. Gravity Stairs, Wikipedia
  2. Crowded House review: raucous spun-sugar pop perfection, The Guardian (2024-06-14)