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Not heard of Fin yet? Well, okay, maybe just this one that can be excused, no need to throw your head in the corner under the weight of a dunce cap. With a debut single only just about to burst through on the radio waves and a video committed to reel (“It’s just a performance video. The thing is with videos is there is just so much bad acting in them, so we tried to avoid that because none of us particularly think we’re Al Pacino.“), there is still much preaching to unconverted to do. ‘Waking Up On A Sunday’ is a sweet, lazy drawl over a bristling melody that sounds a tiny bit like ‘Soft Bulletin’-era Flaming Lips, very much like it should be pulsating out of a million car radios and considerably unlike it was the work of a bunch of unknown lads holed up in a Nottingham home studio for a year and a half. As guitarist Tim Wilson explains, though, it most certainly is. “Myself and Jamie, who’s the lead singer, we got together about 18 months ago just through mutual friends really. There was a label in Birmingham, who’re now looking after, they heard the demos and were blown away and gave us the finance to build a studio. We’ve just been writing a lot of songs since then. We’ve maybe got 40 songs in the can.”
Despite their ability to churn up a tune that would have the majors thrusting swag at every turn (and touting them a new ‘Coldplay’), Fin are now being held in the capable hands of Depth Records. Just who are Depth Records though? “They’re just really cool guys. They’re just developing in a really 60s and 70s way, you know when the labels were run by musicians, not by accountants.” Not only in Tim Wilson, do Fin possess a songwriter with an irresistible knack for friendly hooks and a whiz-kid in the producer’s swivel chair, but also seemingly a wise head on such young shoulders. Cashing-in quickly was seemingly never part of the masterplan and Tim has strong views on the comparative merits of being signed in the 1970s to now and why Britain is belching forth less world-beaters than it used to be. “A lot of the time it was because the artists were allowed to develop, they were allowed to develop their songwriting skill, which you are not allowed to do a lot of times on a major label.“ Not that Fin are going to stick two fingers up to Seymour Stein types when the money men come a-knocking. “We weren’t ready for a major at that time. Obviously, from what I can work out the label is going to try and get a major involved to promote this record when it does come out, just because at the end of the day, you can’t do without them, no matter what band you are, because they’ve got the machinery to make it work.”
When the necessary readies are stockpiled and the slow cogs of showbiz are all oiled-up, Tim and his cohorts will then have to finally start figuring out quite what the hell they’re going to do with all their hidden gems. The album is pencilled in for Spring 2004. So, double album debut anybody? “Before the album it comes out, it could be any 12 or up to 30 songs. I think it’s just a case of consistency in knowing what the album is going to would like. We’re quite eclectic; we’re not a one song, one vibe band. A lot of bands these days have got one vibe, one tempo.“ Drizzled as their first single in lush arrangements and skyscraping guitars, beneath its velour does remain a distinct melodious structure, so the long-player should at least be free of too much head-scratching noodling if they do go double. “We demo on a tape recorder. If it doesn’t sound good on there, with an acoustic and a vocal, then it doesn’t get recorded.”
Despite Fin’s creative nucleus of Tim and Jamie, Fin are very much a band. After numerous knob-twiddles, the rush of being out of studio and onto a stage must be blessed relief as they tear off their studio boffin guises. ”We’ve played maybe 70 times in the last year. We’ve played live a few times in London, the Bull & Gate, the usual places, but we haven’t made a big deal out of it. We’re just trying to keep low key until we think we’re ready and we think we’re ready now.” Their approach of getting good before anybody can see you make a fool of yourself seems to have paid dividends. “Bands used to play loads and loads of gigs before anybody knew who they were. We all know we can play, we can write a great song, but play it live 20 times, it becomes even better.”
For Tim, Fin seems to have been a godsend after many a time spent in a no-hoper combo and even after a crushing touring and recording schedule, he seems readied for success. This time around, it was apparent he was onto something a bit special. “The first three songs we wrote, everybody heard them said ‘wow’. Sometimes you just meet the right people to work with. It’s hard for musicians. We all know people who are really talented, but they just haven’t hooked up with the right people to work with.” Now with those right people in tow, he seems beaming with confidence and ready to make sure you’ll have heard of Fin and soon. “We don’t want to make a one record album. We want to show how eclectic we are and also how strong the melodies are.“
