Craig Finn previews upcoming album in The Current studio
by Mary Lucia
February 15, 2017
When it comes to titling his album, Craig Finn likes to scan his song lyrics for ideas. "I was going over the lyrics and I saw 'We all want the same things'," he recalls. "I chuckled to myself because it is a dark comedy sort of, but I do think at some level we all want the same things on the big things, we just disagree on how to get there."
Finn's next album, We All Want the Same Things, comes out on March 24, 2017. Before the album release, Finn has been touring with Japandroids. While in town for a show at First Avenue in Minneapolis, Finn and his band — Arum Bali on lead guitar, Will Berman on bass and Falcon Valdez on drums — stopped at The Current studio to chat with Mary Lucia and to preview some songs from the forthcoming album.
The songs contain plenty of geographical and cultural references to Minnesota, but Finn has made New York his home for more than a decade. "I like a lot of alone time," he says. "I think one of the reasons I'm attracted to being a musician and being on tour: I love being alone in a crowd. I can think better if I'm surrounded by chaos but I'm not having to deal with anyone. It also makes New York City a really good place to live."
That said, returning to Minnesota is always nourishing for Finn, particularly getting to play at in the First Avenue mainroom. "You know it's a sure thing — it's going to be great," Finn says. "First Avenue … is my favorite place to play in the world."
Use the audio player above to hear the complete session and the new songs, and to hear more about how the new album and its sequencing came together.
Songs Performed
"Preludes"
"Be Honest"
"Tracking Shots"
All songs from Craig Finn's forthcoming album, We All Want the Same Things,, releasing March 24, 2017, on Partisan Records.
Hosted by Mary Lucia
Produced by Derrick Stevens
Engineered by Michael DeMark and Elijah Deaton-Berg
Visuals by Nate Ryan
Web feature by Luke Taylor
Resources
Craig Finn - official site
Craig Finn, We All Want the Same Things (Amazon)
