“My fellow citizens, if you’re hearing this tape then the world as we knew it has finished,” the vintage transatlantic voice delivers with an air of disconcertion to a backdrop of what feels like a 1950s TV theme. Don’t worry, though, this isn’t the apocalypse – though it may feel like it at times – this is the start of Technicolour Daydream.
Consisting of eight infectious electro-pop tracks, this brilliantly conceptualised album is what Stoke-on-Trent four-piece FINNEY has been quietly working away on for the last 10 months. Today, September 22, 2023, they finally released it into the world, sharing exclusive details of its concept and creation with The Leopheard.
Wasting no time after their Not Done Dreaming EP, the band were longing for something bigger, brighter and more cohesive, committing themselves to showcase their talent, determination and creativity by curating a full length record.
After the unease conjured by the opening broadcast, Walking In The Rain bathes you in dark pop sounds that feel like a modern-day rendezvous between The Killers and Shawn Mendes. The synth-laden track builds around narrative lyrics while Adam Finney’s vocals lend themselves well to this contemporary style.
Initially, the album was going to follow a character healing after a break up, which is why the lyrics are filled with emotion and vulnerability. But during the process of creating the album, something happened which changed the story entirely. Keys player and producer Mitch Rindom explained: “Sometime in the middle of the production one of my close family friends died and from that point all the meanings of the songs shifted for me, the purpose of the project changed and everything made a lot more sense. We started with quite a common theme of a bad breakup but with the events that happened everything became about life and death and loss and coping with all of it.”
Enter World Burn, introduced by yet another vintage broadcast, warning of the perils of sexual liberation. It encapsulates the apocalyptic sensation that washes over us in times of trauma, whether it be loss or heartbreak, igniting a fiery rage before the healing can begin.
Speaking on the single, vocalist and frontman Adam Finney said: “The song represents always wanting to grow up as quickly as you could when you were a teenager. You then grow up and realise how easy it used to be, when you were oblivious, with no ties holding you down and also, realising that there are awful things happening around the world that you couldn’t possibly comprehend would ever be seen outside of movies. Looking back at the days when all you had to do for that day was worry about what time tea was.”
The indie-pop gem maintains that 80s charm that FINNEY have meticulously crafted, with a rock edge akin to Back to the Future-influenced McFly. Jovial guitars and upbeat instrumentation capture the creative energy that this four-piece outfit are powered by, while Adam’s lyrics paint a universally recognisable picture of the tumultuous transition from carefree youth to the harsh realities of adulthood.
“The day that we created Technicolour Daydream (the song) we knew it had to be the title purely for how broad and visual it sounded,” says Mitch. The mellow synth pop number nods to cliche action movie references and tv show archetypes, penned between Mitch and frontman Adam, whose maturing vocals float on top of the multilayered, cinematic soundscape created by Mitch, Tommy and Zak.
Mitch continued: “Although these three album tracks were released as singles, they are now where they belong, in story order and hopefully they make more sense and help to show the bigger picture that we are trying to convey.”
A short, slow and solemn interlude blends seamlessly into I Can’t Fly, a poignant departure from their signature upbeat, electronic sound which offers a refreshing change of pace.A compelling drum track takes the reins, providing the backbone for the melancholic bass and guitar melodies, demonstrating their versatility as musicians and willingness to explore the uncharted territories of sound and feeling.
Brighter Side is atmospheric and dreamy, coming to life with percussion that feels like a beating heart and a guitar solo that feels like it speaks to the soul before concluding with the optimistic and energetic Better Days – though it was never intended to be the closing track.
“The original album was supposed to end on a song called The River that we play live,” said Mitch. “The song is about finding yourself, healing yourself and moving on, however, we couldn’t produce a studio version of the song that we thought did justice to the live version. Because of this the album now ends on Better Days – a song about literally holding out for just that. I think this makes a lot more sense and is a lot more reflective of where I was emotionally while making the album but also where all four of us are at the moment after going through our own situations in the past year.
“Instead of being a full circle story of a loss that ruins your life, working through it and coming out completely healed, this album is a more realistic story of a great loss that impacts you, attempting to process it, realising your own mortality and accepting that you’re holding on for better days.”
With its catchy chorus and emotional lyrics, Better Days breathes positivity and injects a sense of promise into this album and leaves you with a heart full of hope. From start to finish FINNEY’s Technicolour Daydream album offers an emotionally-charged sonic experience that listeners will interpret in their own way, with universal relatability and a genre-bending sound that’s almost impossible to pin down, making it appeal to a wider audience.
The album is fun, experimental and creative with a DIY-edge that comes from being self-produced. It has been so thoughtfully crafted with meticulous attention to detail and out-of-the-box innovation, which is what makes them one of the most exciting examples of local emerging talent in Staffordshire. It’s been a real joy to review these singles as they came out, and for the album to finally be here feels like a rebirth for the band as they elevate their career to the next level.
FINNEY will be celebrating their album launch with a gig at The Underground on October 6, supported by Darla Jade and Foxariot. You can listen to the record, learn all the words, and add it to your own playlist here.