Hello and welcome to my second monthly album review of 2025! This is a review of an album by someone who's pretty famous but, in my opinion, not quite famous enough: Finneas. Some of you might not know who Finneas is, some of you might remember him from previous songs on Hits 1 like For Cryin' Out Loud, Till Forever Falls Apart, or Let's Fall In Love For The Night, and some of you might just know him as the brother of Billie Eilish. Well, I think of him as Finneas. His solo music is actually quite great. It does have its similarities to Billie, but there are obviously many notable distinctions. So, I decided to review his most recent album, titled For Cryin' Out Loud!
I just noticed as I'm writing this that this is my first review of an album by a solo male artist, and only my second review of any album by male artists, which was previously only held by Pearl Jam. Kinda surprising, but kinda not considering most of the major celebrities in the music world right now are female.
Also... yes, I know I have not been following my schedule recently. Part of that in the last few days has been due to seeing Finneas in concert, having some power & internet issues due to winter weather, and other things I'd rather not discuss here (pls don't worry), but I will go a little bit more into detail about that tomorrow in a separate post. Anyway, let's just get into the album review!
1. Starfucker
My rating: 5/5 Great
Well that's an interesting title. Immediately when I saw it, I thought of that line from Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect out of this song. It's actually a semi-rare case of a great opening track. Right from the unique piano line at the beginning, I was instantly pretty certain that this album would be quite the awesome one. One thing that Finneas does really well in his music (and the same goes for Billie's music) is evolution. This song progresses from a melancholy reflection on a breakup to pure anger about a toxic person. I love the way the chorus changes from "I was yours before you were cool" to "I'd still be yours for sure but you're cruel", completely changing the meaning of the song. Already one of my top 5 favorites on the album.
2. What's It Gonna Take To Break Your Heart?
My rating: 5/5 Great
So, this album was promoted with three singles, two of which were great choices, and one of which, in my opinion, shouldn't have been a single, which we'll get to very soon. I know exactly what I would've chosen as a single instead: this song. This would've been such a great single! It's got a sound that's upbeat enough for radio but not to the point where it's unenjoyable to listen to, and the lyrics have a deep message behind them but are catchy and slightly repetitive, like a lot of radio singles. Also, this song sonically reminds me of Espresso for some reason. It's a really random comparison, I know, but I'll never be able to unhear it. (They both mention coffee in the lyrics also!) I feel like this is a vocal strong point on the album, showing off Finneas's incredible range, and even the backup singer, who I thought for sure was Billie when I first heard it but is apparently someone named Lucy Healey, sounds genuinely really good. Starting the album strong!
3. Cleats
My rating: 3/5 Decent
We've reached the first single on the tracklist, and... this is the one I mentioned before. I don't think this should've been a single, but it's still an okay song. (I mean, it's Finneas, how bad can it possibly get?) Although it's definitely my least favorite song on the album, it redeems itself in a lot of ways: the lyrics are quite clever in the verses, and there are some cool elements to this song's production also. However, I find a lot of it, particularly the chorus and the guitar riffs throughout, to be a bit too repetitive and not evolving enough, and therefore feeling boring compared to other songs on the album. Really nothing else I have to say here, just an incredibly generic song.
4. Little Window
My rating: 5/5 Great
If I were to re-review Hit Me Hard And Soft (which I'm not doing btw, but just hypothetically) most of the ratings wouldn't change, other than giving Wildflower a lower rating. I love how Wildflower sounds musically, but the lyrics fall flat for me. Well, this song gave me just what Wildflower was missing: some strong lyrics to fit with this similar production style. Most of the songs on this album (and really most music in general) are breakup songs, but this is thought to be an exception, with the lyrics being interpreted as written about feeling depressed due to spending too much time on social media: the "little window" motif mentioned throughout the song refers to a cell phone. And when I say the production sounds a lot like Wildflower, I mean that in a good way. It doesn't feel like he copied himself or his sister. It makes it seem like the two songs are connected in some way. I'm not sure exactly how, but there's probably some relation beyond just the artists. But that doesn't matter right now. Another great song!
5. 2001
My rating: 4/5 Good
Yeah, this one's a bit less interesting to me but still a solid song. According to Finneas as stated on the FCOL tour, this song is about getting stood up by a date. Some of the lyrics are quite cleverly written as usual for Finneas, but nothing is really standing out to me. The production is cool albeit a bit generic. There are a few particularly cool-sounding elements to it: I love the drums in this song. But yeah, overall just a generic but good song that I'll probably not come back to as much as other songs on the album, but it's not bad at all.
6. Same Old Story
My rating: 5/5 Great
Yes! I consider this my favorite song on the album. I must say, though it obviously didn't ruin my entire concert experience, I was disappointed at the fact that Finneas played every song on his album at the FCOL tour except Same Old Story, which just so happens to be my favorite song on the album (which I'm sure is an unpopular opinion so it doesn't surprise me much, but I still wish he did it). This is a bit of an odd comparison, but sonically, this song kinda reminds me of Happiness by Taylor Swift. It's in the same key (a key I don't usually like, unless it's with this style of song), and has a similar sort of progression, starting with sparse synths playing simple chords and adding more touches of synthesized sounds throughout. About halfway through, the drums kick in and the song reaches its climax. And of course, the lyrics here are also quite great. The title is pretty much self-explanatory: the song is about having to deal with... well, the same old story over and over in a relationship, never being able to escape the same routines. A lot of these lyrics I find relatable and well-written. Magnificent song, a definite favorite from the start.
7. Sweet Cherries
My rating: 4/5 Good
Well, after that masterpiece, now we have this song that's a bit less great. Don't get me wrong, I like this song. Some of the experimental synth sounds actually sound really cool. After a while that one that's really loud and scratchy-ish can get distracting, but it works for the most part. I like the lyrics and the story they tell, starting with interest in someone and ending in heartbreak, but there are other songs that do it better. I'm not always particularly a fan of the whole "two songs in one" concept (usually it's done well) and in this case it's fine but I think it could've been more connected. But overall, the lyrics are well-written and the production sounds pretty cool so I can't bring the song down very much at all. It's just, again, one of the few songs on this album that I don't imagine myself coming back to listen to regularly.
8. For Cryin' Out Loud
My rating: 5/5 Great
We've finally reached the title track and probably this album's "biggest hit", and it's a rare case of a radio single that I consider one of an album's top songs. This was the only song from the album that made it onto Hits 1, although it dropped out of Hitbound. (Unfortunately Finneas still, as far as I know, has yet to have any solo songs on the Hits 1 Weekend Countdown, not counting being featured on Ashe's top five hit Till Forever Falls Apart in 2021.) What stands out the most about this song is the production: this song showcases Finneas's genre-blending pretty much at its best. The combination of rock elements with jazz-like brass instrumentation sounds so great to me, and fits well with the lyrics. By the way, the lyrics are also very clever, even though they're about a concept some people might see as overused (I disagree): about being in love with someone who makes you insane. I think this was a great single choice, and also a great album title choice. But most importantly, it's just a flat-out great song.
9. Family Feud
My rating: 5/5 Great
Well, I had a feeling that Finneas probably wrote a song about his sister. They obviously have a close relationship especially in the music world, and this song gives imagery & descriptions of the usual interactions and relationship between Finneas & Billie, both the good and the bad. I love these types of songs, and Finneas unsurprisingly does it really well. The production also, as usual, sounds great and fits the lyrics in such a nice way. It has a very nostalgic, acoustic, pure sound to it that supports the lyrics gorgeously. I don't really have anything else to say for this one, it's just, once again, another great song.
10. Lotus Eater
My rating: 5/5 Great
Alright, the finale has arrived. And guess what? Surprise, this is one of few albums that starts and ends on a great song! Based on how many times I recommended this song to Hits 1 and when I placed it on my personal top 20 chart, you probably knew it was a favorite of mine. It's definitely my favorite of the three singles, and probably my third-favorite song on the album, just following Little Window & Same Old Story. It's a great, reflective closer that works especially well considering its lyrical & thematic parallels to the opening track, Starfucker. And also, the production is stellar. This is my favorite rock moment for Finneas. This song feels almost like punk-rock while still having the jazz elements I notice in a lot of his music. Really, this song is just such a great closer to such a great album. Great. Great. Great. Great!
Conclusion
Overall album rating: 92% (Great Album)
This album has the same score as Gracie Abrams' The Secret Of Us. I didn't quite know what to expect. I knew for sure it'd be great, but I wasn't sure whether it would have more of a low-great score comparable to that of Dark Matter or Eternal Sunshine, or an absolutely stunning score like Hit Me Hard And Soft, Evermore, or either Olivia Rodrigo album, but it got a score right in the middle of the "great album" spectrum. Overall, great album!
Favorite songs: What's It Gonna Take To Break Your Heart, Little Window, Same Old Story, For Cryin' Out Loud, Lotus Eater
"Least" favorite song: Cleats
That's all for now! Byeeeeeeeeee!
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