Stream: Finneas, ‘Shelter’

Kevin Bronson on August 22nd, 2019

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Singer-songwriter Finneas O’Connell has already shown himself to be a pop craftsman, both in the album’s worth of singles he has released as Finneas and as kid sister Billie Eilish’s collaborator and producer.

As his sister’s worldwide victory lap in support of the hit album “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” begins to wind down, Finneas today announced a release of his own: his debut EP, “Blood Harmony,” out Oct. 4. Of the title, the 22-year-old says: “I would love for [it] to remain ambiguous to listeners and for everyone to be able to imbue it with their own meaning and justification,” before adding, “The most common use of the term blood harmony is an English expression for what it sounds like when siblings sing together, that biologic chemistry — I think that speaks for itself.”

Many of Finneas’ most popular singles are swoon-worthy ballads, but not so with the new song “Shelter.” The follow-up to his June single “Angel,” it’s a spry pop track built around nimble guitars and handclaps. “I wrote this song a couple years ago and just let it percolate for a while, seeing how it would age,” he says. “When I looked through my music to release this year, I came across the demo and was pleasantly surprised to find I still liked it.

“Usually, I get bored of my stuff almost immediately. I wanted this song to have an urgency to it when I recorded it, the same way that the lyrics do — the kind of feverish feeling that accompanies loving someone.”

Finneas will scarcely have time to catch his breath after touring with his sister, whose summertime exploits wind up Oct. 12 at Austin City Limits (where he also performs). Finneas’ “Blood Harmony” headlining tour starts a couple of days later, with an L.A. date on Oct. 17.

||| Stream: “Shelter”