Finn Doherty - You're Still in My Dreams

It is almost four years since I reviewed 'The Choice That You Made', the accomplished debut album from Norwich via North London singer songwriter Finn Doherty. It comes as a welcome Spring surprise, therefore, to learn that new music is on the way, together with a headlining gig at Voodoo Daddy's Showroom on April 26th. There is also a London date at The Slaughtered Lamb in Clerkenwell on the 14th.
 
First up, though, is the new single, released on March 18th, and entitled 'You're Still In My Dreams'. It reveals a new melancholic maturity to Doherty's songwriting, as he explores the pain and angst of a broken relationship. Starting and finishing with just fragile vocals and a piano, 'You're Still In My Dreams' builds to a crescendo with its desperate plea of loss and regret - “I'm so lost without you, will you come back home”. It lingers and flows with gentle memories of broken love and a spent passion. It is a raw, weeping wound of a song, made even more poignant by the sparseness of the accompaniment and the soulful delivery. There are moments that remind me of Cutting Crew's  '(I Just Died) In Your Arms Tonight', but this is no power ballad. It is a gut-wrenching exorcism of emotional pain, sung as though an arrow has been shot straight into the heart. It is a truly haunting song, and one that will strike a chord with anyone who has ever lost out in love,
 
So good to have Finn back in the musical spotlight, and I am now eagerly looking forward to even more new music from one of Norwich's finest young songwriters.