They say that you should write about what you know. FINICK takes things a stage further, writing about what she knows, what she feels, and how she sees the world. And while Weekends in Purgatory is an autobiographical set of songs from a young woman’s perspective, there is not one song here that won’t resonate with the audience. No matter what the listener’s age, gender, culture or geography, these songs catalogue the human experience, these are songs based on the emotional experiences, understandable attitudes and actual events we all go through. Personal? Yes. Relatable? Absolutely!
“Selfish” kicks things off with a bang and sees her delivering a firey, pop-punk opening salvo, all infectious groove and outsider attitude, but this seems to come very much from one end of her sonic spectrum. For the most part, the songs take on an indie-folk form, a loose term perhaps but one that perfectly describes the scope and scale of the sonic manoeuvrability going on, and indeed, there is a lot of variance found here.
If “Bigger Than Us” is the sound of modern folk and gentle pop music dancing together, “The More You Wait” glides more into a jangling indie realm. And although “Mud” might run on gnashing guitars, the beat-driven but spacious country groove of “Bored & Busy” is certainly more representative of the album.
If pop music is seen as being a broad and accessible church and roots music a more authentic and genuine musical form, FINICK is an artist who can travel through both of those musical soundscapes, mining their sonic seams for the required elements to make fabulously finessed, poised and poignant, pop-roots music.
