CD - With a 24 page CD bookpack. Resurgam – meaning “I shall rise again” – is the hotly-anticipated sixth studio album from Fink: UK-born, Berlin-based founding singer-songwriter musician Fin Greenall, alongside long-time bandmates Tim Thornton (drums, guitar) and Guy Whittaker (bass). It continues an acclaimed and distinctly adventurous catalogue, from the sample-splicing debut Fresh Produce (2000), through to the beautifully heady expressions of their last album, Hard Believer (2014). Resurgam derives its title from a Latin inscription in a 900-year-old church in Greenall’s native Cornwall. Its vital, insistent spirit pulses through the entire album, which was recorded with ground-breaking producer Flood (PJ Harvey, U2, Foals, Warpaint, The Killers) at his Assault and Battery studios in North London. Its ten new tracks were created over two months, a relatively luxurious stretch of time compared to previous Fink albums, resulting in a collection that is both assertive and richly immersive. On the opening title number, Resurgam’s lyrics are deliberately stripped-back, but they also pack a powerful punch, along with a deliciously persuasive deep funk flow. There is revelation and redemption; Fink’s positive conviction pervades even the darkest sentiments here. Day 22 deals with sobriety and temptation, spiked with Greenall’s characteristic observant wit (“the blood, sweat, tears taste so good”). The lead single, Cracks Appear delivers a headrush of melody, with warmth and candour. On the exquisitely bittersweet Word To The Wise, Greenall lingers over the final notes of a love affair, tenderly accompanied on the piano by Douglas Dare. Not Everything Was Better In The Past feels like a personal awakening, merging sharp reflections and poignant moods. A heavy, resonant bass underpins the production throughout, and a range of new elements are also added to the Fink mix, from Flood’s own vintage analogue synths, to sax (played by guest musician Martin Slattery) layered into the vivid atmospheres and skittering beats of This Isn’t a Mistake. The rhythm guitar hook of Godhead brings out a West African influence, and lends a mesmerising backdrop to Greenall’s rousing vocals. Resurgam is a bold new chapter; it is also unforgettably Fink: whole-hearted, soulful, irrepressible. Both the CD and 2LP covers have ‘soft touch’ lamination, with the respective booklets on an uncoated art paper.
