Music > Album Reviews

Finn Doherty - The Choice That You Made

10/06/18

Mixtapes. To my generation, these were as important as Top of the Pops, Woolworths, and the Super Nintendo. Before the advent of playlists, the mixtape was the standard method by which to share your favourite tracks, create the soundtrack to a relationship, or just pirate the entire Top Forty from the radio on a Sunday night. Nowadays, they are more likely to be passed around online, and include sampled and remixed material spliced together on a home computer.

Now Norwich multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Finn Doherty chooses to unveil his latest collection as an online 'mixtape' - eight songs boosted by two short instrumental pieces. Strong melodies, thoughtful lyrics and great production mean that this really does have the sound and feel of a full album. And an accomplished one at that.

Feel So Good is the upbeat love song with a summery feel that has already debuted on Soundcloud and i-Tunes. It shows just how much Doherty has developed as a songwriter. Nestling roughly half way through the collection, it becomes the fulcrum around which everything else pivots - a  panorama of mood and emotions that nestle cosily on either side, ranging from the reflective positivity of the title track to the sombre The People Are Freezing and the frantic finale of Alright. Rhythmically, there are moments when Doherty's delivery reminds a little of a certain Mr Sheeran, but the lush production that adds drums, keys and electric guitars to his heartfelt vocals ensure that listening to Finn remains a uniquely enjoyable experience.