Every band needs a hook; Charm of Finches hasn’t quite found theirs yet.
The band’s song, “The Bridge” starts slow and finishes slower. This ballad recalls a time before the hustle and bustle of modern life. Its slow pace and melancholy tone are calming. The lyrics speak generally of ‘silence’ and invoke vague symbolism that is never really followed through, either in the song itself or the accompanying music video.
The lyrics don’t seem to link together into a coherent story or theme. This is a problem when the band clearly does have a message they wish to get across. What that message is was completely lost in translation. Verses of the song seem to have no relation whatsoever to subsequent verses except for the repetition of ‘silence’.
I will give you an example. The singer sings about going home with an unfit and mysterious man and then abruptly transitions into singing about the loneliness and silence of Christmas day. Keep in mind, there was no previous mention of Christmas in the song. It sounded very out of place. That is not the only abrupt change of subject in the song, but it is the most egregious.
He took you in is home…
Now Christmas day is is bitter…
The abrupt topic changes are not the only problem with the song. “The Bridge” isn’t especially creative; there is nothing new in either the arrangement or the lyrics. It is standard fare for the ‘sad strumming’ genre of indie rock. It is at best forgettable.
But neither is it completely without redeeming qualities. The song is pretty. It would be wonderful to play in the background while studying or reading a book on a winter evening. The music isn’t bad-far from it. It just has the misfortune of sounding like every other song in its genre.
‘The Bridge” is an early effort from Australian band Charm of Finches. Their music is fundamentally sound and they have a promising future once they develop their own unique style.
Image Credit: Emma McEvoy
