I don’t get it. I simply don’t.

2007 was a pretty good year for music, all in all. Maybe not great for the actual industry of selling music, and maybe not fantastic on the Top 40 charts (unless you intended on hiding beneath an umbrella-ella-ella or Supermanning that ho), but few years in recent memory have kept me truly engaged in looking for what was coming out next. Iron And Wine put out a great, hi-fi stunner in The Shepherd’s Dog, The New Pornographers broadened their stylistic pallet with Challengers, Radiohead roared back with In Rainbows. Why Crowded House’s Time On Earth isn’t similarly heralded, I’ll never know.

Coming through Dave Matthews’ ATO imprint, the band is as intact as one could honestly expect. Paul Hester’s death prompted, in part, the band’s original dissolution, and Tim Finn wasn’t exactly a full fledged member, although the Split Enz pseudo-reunion was rather cool. With Neil Finn and Nick Seymour back on board, this is a more complete reunion than, say, The Zwaning Pumpkins. Regardless of staffing, had this been a Neil Finn solo effort, I would still call it painfully overlooked, as there were few pop/rock albums from last year as catchy and accomplished as Time On Earth. (more…)