Fink Albums (4)
'Sort of Revolution'
Release Date 5/22/2009
Tracks 10
Label Ninja Tune
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
On Sort of Revolution, Fin Greenall (aka Fink), cements his reputation as an acoustic based singer/songwriter using his elemental DJ skills to accentuate his compositions. Bassist Guy Whittaker and drummer Tim Thornton are true musical accompli in this meld of acoustic guitars, handmade (sometimes literally) beats, dub-wise basslines, and skeletally used snares, hi-hats, and brushed cymbals. Fink writes songs whose lyrics are decidedly simple and resemble actual speech more than they do poetry. He embellishes them quietly, musically; they are always unassuming, but he somehow manages to get them inside the listener's head where they stay and gain not only real estate, but a kind of quiet power. The title track that opens the set employs some digital dub effects in the last third of the tune, with rhythm tracks echoing from channel to channel, stuttering piano, and guitar deep in the rhythm, but Fink's vocal remains untouched and clear as a (softly rung) bell. "Move on Me," one of the most beautiful tracks on Sort of Revolution is a haunted love song. Fink's vocals are layered in choral patterns on the refrain, the bass is the lead instrument, followed closely by the middle strings on the acoustic guitar and some sampled cello, and there's an utterly ethereal piano track played by none other than John Legend. These two tracks are relatively high-production numbers, whereas "Six Weeks" is rooted firmly in acoustic blues; it's extremely minimal with only guitar and some layered vocals walking it through, and is accompanied by a sparse bassline. The same goes for the striking hymn to generosity "If I Had a Million." "See It All" utilizes a piano sample from Flashbulb's "Kirlian Selections" (and they got it from Terry Riley in the first place) along with his hand percussion as both an intro and a bottom-end map for the track. His guitar is tossed in seemingly at random as an effect rather than as accompaniment. What it all boils down to is what Fink was looking for in the beginning, a way of telling a story plainly and intimately without overt romanticism or overuse of flowery metaphors. His limited dynamic range creates an intense, almost suffocating feeling of intimacy, and is, therefore, in its way, dramatic. The beautiful fingerpopping percussion that introduces "Q&A" combines a street-corner doo wop feel with dub reggae, gospel quartet, and even hip-hop. The story leaves out more than it reveals lyrically, but the dubby echoes, percussion, and the taut phrasing in his vocal show the listener what the track is about without having to tell it. Ultimately, Sort of Revolution is another step forward for Fink. Over the course of his Ninja Tune albums he's become an accomplished and original songwriter with only one comparable peer (Los Angeles' Damon Aaron who also began as a DJ). He understands that less is always more, and that tenderness, real life tension, and intimacy are often related more directly by impression than overt gestures. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
'Distance and Time'
Release Date 9/28/2007
Tracks 9
Label Ninja Tune/Big Dad
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Biscuits for Breakfast'
Release Date 4/16/2006
Tracks 9
Label Ninja Tune
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
One has to give the NinjaTune label credit for taking a chance on Biscuits for Breakfast. When we last listened in on Finian Greenhall (aka Fink), he was making ambient trip-hop beats (2000s Fresh Produce), and a long six years later he's become a full-blown, guitar picking singer/songwriter. No, we're not speaking of the whiskey-rotted, cowboy-hatted, delusional Americana of a Townes Van Zandt wannabe, nor the wasted Cocaine California decadence of the Jackson Browne-Eagles brood, nor the weepy, terminally depressed Nick Drake-wish-upon-a-Pink Moon-songstrelsy either. Instead, Fink's gone his own way. That's not to say the sounds of his heroes aren't in here: one can hear John Martyn in his noirish approach to jazzy acoustic blues, the bottleneck influence of Peter Green (post-Fleetwood Mac y'all) and even the fingerpicking toughness of Davy Graham. There is a wonderfully intimate smokiness in Fink's approach to his songs. It's intimate, but utterly lacking in sentimentalism,. Check the opener "Pretty Little Thing," on which he plays the whole menagerie: bass, guitar (nylon strings, no less), and B-3. The lyrics in this cut are not much to be sure, but as a first track Fink's looking to usher in the set's atmosphere, and as such it works beautifully. Dave Matthews would kill to have written a tune like this one for his "solo" album Some Devil. The real surprise is when his co-writers -- bassist Guy Whittaker and drummer Tim Thornton -- and bandmates jump in on "Pills in My Pocket." The steel-string acoustic comes out, as does the bottleneck slide, a shuffling rhythm ushers in his streetlife tale matter-of-factly. Vocalist Tina Grace (Nitin Sawhney, Cirque du Soleil) sings lead on the swampy, spooky love song "Hush Now," as Fink plays slide, and sings backup and creates a series of shuffling little loops that enter the picture. The title track has a few sparse FX on it, but the tone is a moaning little streetwise blues and the main instrument is his voice. It's expressive and emotive even as it slips and shimmers just above the skeletal mix. There is no overkill here. As much as this album uses the blues, it's hardly a roots blues album; it's thoroughly urban in imagery, utterance, sophistication, steamy eroticism, and rhythm (albeit in a mostly organic, post-2 A.M. way). At just over 36 minutes, its length is perfect. Biscuits for Breakfast is a surprise considering what the cat did before, but let's hope he doesn't move from this phase of his musical vocation just yet; we need another recording to follow this one before another six years passes. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Befitting the ambient NTone sublabel of Ninja Tune it was released on, Fresh Produce is just slightly more down-tempo slanted than the label's other releases: Coldcut, Amon Tobin, the Herbaliser, or Funki Porcini. Most tracks are ambient trip-hop, with either a dub drum kit or spare jungle breaks providing the framework for keyboard explorations, cinematic vocal samples, and occasional turntablist scratching. If it all sounds like something that's been done before, that's because it has. The LP has some intriguing tracks, like the label salute "We Are Ninja" and a two-part record collecting homage -- "Ever Since I Was a Kid (Pt. 1)" and "It Seemed I Collected Something (Pt. 2)" -- but it's almost as though Fink has been paying too much attention to all the other records on the electronic scene. The result is a well-produced, but rather safe collection of tracks. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
