Review Summary: Sort Of Revolution reads like a bromance novel with the same chapter repeating.
Fink is a British singer-songwriter, who up until this point has primarily been a local trending topic. Fin Greenall, who uses Fink as his artist alias, was once a DJ but traded rave parties for intimate ballroom shows.
Sort Of Revolution, his latest album, finds Fink wandering through a background of R&B and relaxing jam-rock tracks. While he is no Jack Johnson, Fink does hold a fresh appeal, but an appeal that arises every so few months when you need to sit back and work on that month-long Powerpoint presentation.
With
Sort Of Revolution you will find a minimalist effort, as in the sum of the parts will sound bare. The opener “Sort Of Revolution” moseys along relying on lowly guitar strums and snare clicks to provide the flavor under his more mainstream Sam Beam voice. But the moments when Fink utilizes a piano are perhaps his greatest moments within
Sort Of Revolution. “See It All” combines as a piano Flashbulb track off
Kirlian Selections with the perfect integration of vocals and strings. His DJ roots lie intact as “Q & A” features a humming pattern that accompanies hand made beats (literally), in what repeats the overall Dispatch-esque direction that resonates with each track. Fink also relies heavily on repeated three to five note strum patterns that limit any sort of dynamic change. The unfortunate part that encapsulates the entire album is with each song, you are never waiting for that moment of greatness, because it never happens. It is like knowing the ending of a 1-0 game in baseball that was won by an error. We hardly find a vocally enticing moment that bleeds emotion, but a calmer, collected Fink. In turn, the effort rubs off as rather bland.
Sort Of Revolution is nothing short of brodacious. It is the soundtrack to a dreary, rainy day that is filled with meticulous tasks or just another chance for a Jack Johnson fan to find that perfect dude who calms your nerves that sings you into a hazy sleep. Fink is inventive, but not groundbreaking which might as well be his crux. Sure, Fink has a nice voice on
Sort Of Revolution, but a nice voice does not go very far in such a musically competitive environment.
