Finian McKean
04.17.06
Mercury Lounge (New York)
words: Amy Wagner
photos: Official Band Website

There’s a certain freakish quality about the male singer/songwriter genre these days. Most of the guys who fit into this category go on stage looking like their mother just dressed them for church. They then proceed to croon and gently strum their way through batches of lonely hearts tunes in a ho-hum manner.

And then, there is Finian McKean. He’s the type of singer/songwriter, who would walk through James Blunt’s video shoot and look the damp-eyed kid as he’s stripping off in the freezing weather and say – “What the hell are you doing? Get it together, man!”

McKean first hit the indie rock scene in the 1990s as part of the Push Kings and he’s still retained some of the raw angst of those days. There’s something sensitive about the man and his music, but not in a pretty boy way. It’s rough enough to be interesting to those who keep the indie flame burning bright. There’s also a slightly dark edge that will probably keep desperate housewives at bay, so you will never have to face the horror of finding out that your mom borrowed your Finian McKean CD.

The night I caught McKean and his drummer’s (he of the correctly named Wild Palms) show, they got what is usually the kiss of death spot on the bill – early on a Monday night. As usual for that time of the evening, about 5 people were in attendance when the fist chords were strummed. This can freak a lot of artists out. I’ve seen it happen, but the lanky rocker took it in stride by telling us early birds, “Don’t feel uncomfortable. It’s gonna be fun!”

He was right! McKean is a charismatic performer who is able to intro songs by saying things like “While we’re in this emotional place . . .” without losing any rock and roll street cred. The evening was mostly about showing off the new tunes on his latest release Shades are Drawn (And Each For Only Recordings), but a sprinkling of newer than new songs that didn’t make the album were also on hand. The best of the hot off the presses tracks was a quirky song called “Running Out of Medicine”.

The indie singer capped off the evening with “Shades Are Drawn” the title track from his new album. It’s a great song from a genre we don’t hear too much anymore as we’re stuck in the current garage art rock scene, but Finian McKean specializes in it. I’ll call it – haunting rock. It moves you, but it has an edge so you never forget it’s rock and roll and, that pretty much sums up the man behind the music as well…