CROWDED HOUSE
Time On Earth

“It’s one thing for a band to get back together and expect that everyone’s just going to embrace you as if you’d never left — that it’s going to be a big celebratory and nostalgic exercise,” says Neil Finn, leader of the newly reformed Crowded House, one of the most beloved pop-rock bands of the late ’80s to mid ’90s. “That’s not what we have in mind. We want to get out amongst it and be a band that has to earn our respect again.”

Finn’s high standards and relentless work ethic have enabled the New Zealand-born singer, guitarist, and songwriter to survive three decades in the pop trade, delivering such timeless gems as “I Got You” for his elder brother Tim’s New Wave band Split Enz, “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and “Fall At Your Feet” for Crowded House, and “She Will Have Her Way,” which appeared on Try Whistling This, one of his two solo albums. Adored by fans and critics alike for his keen eye for lyrical detail and matchless gift for melody, Finn proves his songwriting skills are as sharp as ever with Time on Earth, the first studio album from Crowded House since 1993’s Together Alone. 

That album was the last to feature the band’s original drummer, Paul Hester, who tragically took his own life in March 2005. In the months following Hester’s death, Finn sought solace in his friend, Crowded House bassist Nick Seymour, and the two began making music together at the beginning of 2006. “We found a way to express something musically and it just felt good,” Finn says. “Even though there were only two of us, it felt like a band again. By the end of that process, I admitted as much to Nick and he admitted it to me.”

Finn and Seymour recorded 10 songs at Finn’s Roundhead Studios in Auckland with their producer Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams, Kings of Leon, Rufus Wainwright) and old friend Ricky Gooch alternating on drums. Though several songs, such as “Nobody Wants To,” “A Sigh,” “You Are The One to Make Me Cry,” and “Silent House” (which Finn co-wrote with the Dixie Chicks), deal with loss, the intense, emotional balladry is balanced by plenty of the band’s signature high-spirited buoyancy, such as the lead-off single “Don’t Stop Now,” the navigation-themed “She Called Up,” the strummy “Even A Child” (co-written with Finn’s friend, former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr), and the humorous “Transit Lounge” (which features a sample Seymour made 10 years ago of a PA announcer at a German airport). “Those four songs add a kind of exuberance, which I think is characteristic of Crowded House,” Finn says. “We were feeling pretty good about things and wanted to capture it on the record.”

Recorded in February 2007 at London’s RAK Studios with famed producer Steve Lillywhite (U2, Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel), those upbeat songs feature guitarist/keyboardist Mark Hart, who joined Crowded House in 1992 (“We asked him the proverbial question: ‘We’re putting the band back together, are you in?’”), and former Beck drummer Matt Sherrod, a new addition whom Finn praises for bringing pizzazz and energy to the proceedings. “Of everyone we auditioned, Matt probably knew the least about Crowded House. In some ways, that freed him up because he was able to express his own character on the songs, and we liked the freshness of that.”

Time On Earth, which is layered with rich textures of guitar, piano, Wurlitzer, horns, touches of Hammond organ and sitar, and plenty of stellar harmonies, should earn the band new listeners who may have missed them the first time around. It will certainly delight the legions of long-time fans who’ve loved Crowded House ever since they formed in Melbourne in 1985. The band’s 1986 self-titled debut spawned the international hits “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” which climbed to Number 2 in the U.S., and “Something So Strong,” which peaked at Number 7. A string of well-received albums followed (all best-sellers in the U.K. and Australia), including 1988’s Temple of Low Men, which included the heart-breaking ballad “Better Be Home Soon,” 1991’s joyful Woodface, a reunion with Tim Finn that produced the classics “Weather With You” and “It’s Only Natural,” and 1993’s sonically adventurous Together Alone, which gave us “Locked Out” and “Distant Sun.” Not long after the latter album’s release, Hester left the band. Finn, feeling his heart wasn’t in it anymore, dissolved Crowded House in June 1996 and released Recurring Dream: The Very Best of Crowded House, which entered the British and Australian charts at Number One. That fall, Finn, Seymour, Hester, and Hart performed an emotional farewell concert on the steps of the Sydney Opera House for hundreds of thousands of fans.

Now they’re back more than a decade later with the July release of Time on Earth, and an extensive North American tour launching in August — a small miracle for those who thought it would never happen. “I think we are trying to take what was a really positive experience and expand on it as best we can,” Finn says. “To make something new feels like the most positive way forward.”

*****

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CROWDED HOUSE CONFIRM FIRST US TOUR SINCE 1996

Crowded House has confirmed its first US tour since 1996. Slated to start on August 4 in Northhampton, MA, the tour will take the band across country and back, ending on September 12 in Atlanta, GA. The tour is in support of the band’s new record, its first since 1993. Entitled “Time on Earth,” the band is Neil Finn - vocals/guitars; Nick Seymour – Bass; Mark Hart - keyboards/guitars; Matt Sherrod – drums. “Time on Earth,” will be released on ATO Records on July 10, 2007. Opening most of these dates will be Pete Yorn. The first shows go on sale on May 19th.

“Time On Earth” is Crowded House’s first new studio album in 14 years, and features original, founding members Neil Finn and Nick Seymour, along with former member Mark Hart and new drummer Matt Sherrod. “Time on Earth” is the band’s first studio record since 1993’s “Together Alone.” The band’s most recent release is a DVD of their farewell show from 1996 at the Sydney Opera House in front of 120,000 fans, entitled “Farewell to the World.” Crowded House debuted the new line up and material in America for the first time since 1996 at the Coachella Festival.

“Time On Earth” was recorded at Roundhead Studios, Auckland, NZ, RAK Studios, London, and Real World Studios, Bath, and was produced by Ethan Johns (Kings Of Leon, Ryan Adams) and Steve Lillywhite (U2, Morrissey). Guitar legend Johnny Marr features on two tracks, lead-off single “Don’t Stop Now” and “Even A Child,” a song he co-wrote with Neil Finn. Another album track, “Silent House,” was co-written by Finn and the Dixie Chicks, whose own version of the song appears on their Grammy Award-winning album “Taking the Long Way.”

Crowded House formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1985 and first tasted global success with their massive 1987 hit “Don’t Dream It’s Over.” They continued to have hits for a decade, including “Something So Strong,” “Weather With You” and “It’s Only Natural.” “Don’t Dream It’s Over” hit #2 on the American Top 40 and won the band Best New Artist at that year’s MTV Music Awards, while “Something” reached the #7 spot. They produced four studio albums and a best-of compilation.

The dates for the tour are as follows:
August
4                      Northhampton, MA             Calvin Theater
5                      Boston, MA                           Bank of American Pavillion w/Pete Yorn
6                      Philadelphia, PA                  Mann Center for Performing Arts w/Pete Yorn
8, 9                  New York, NY                      Beacon Theatre w/Pete Yorn
11                    Montreal, QUE                     St. Denis w/Pete Yorn
13                    Toronto, ONT                       Massey Hall w/Pete Yorn
14                    Ann Arbor, MI                      Michigan Theatre w/16 Frames
17                    Milwaukee, WI                     Pabst Theatre w/16 Frames
18                    Chicago, IL                            House of Blues w/16 Frames
20                    Kansas City, MO                  Uptown Theatre w/16 Frames
22                    Denver, CO                           Fillmore w/Fountains of Wayne
24                    San Diego, CA                      Humphrey’s w/16 Frames
25                    Santa Barbara, CA                Santa Barbara Bowl w/Pete Yorn
26                    Oakland, CA                         Paramount Theatre of the Arts w/Pete Yorn
28                    Los Angeles, CA                  Greek Theater w/Pete Yorn
29, 30              Saratoga, CA                         The Mountain Winery w/Pete Yorn

September
1                      Seattle, WA                           Bumbershoot
2                      Portland, OR                         Arlene Schnitzer w/Pete Yorn
3                      Vancouver, BC                     Orpheum Theatre w/Pete Yorn
5                      Calgary, AB                           Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium w/Pete Yorn
6                      Edmonton, AB                      Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium w/Pete Yorn
8                      Wnnipeg, MB                       Winnipeg Concert Hall w/Pete Yorn
9                      Minneapolis, MN                 Orpheum Theatre w/Pete Yorn
11                    Nashville, TN                       Ryman Auditorium w/Pete Yorn
12                    Atlanta, GA                           Tabernacle w/Pete Yorn
           

www.crowdedhouse.com

###


For more information, please contact Big Hassle Media at 212-619-1360:
Ken Weinstein:
Nicole Orbe :

or

Ambrosia Healy
ATO Records
ambrosia.healy@atorecords.com