In the early nineties, an interviewer famously asked Jeff Buckley, “How do you want to be remembered?”

The late troubadour succinctly replied, “As a good friend.”

This answer strikes a chord with FINNEAS. “I always thought it was pretty profound,” he goes on. “I think about that quote a lot.”

Perhaps, it’s because the statement speaks volumes in its purity, and his own creative approach remains similarly pure…

It’s fair to say FINNEAS makes music for the same reason he always has—he loves it. That love has only burgeoned in the years since he emerged as a history-making and award-winning singer, songwriter, multi- instrumentalist, composer and producer. In this spirit, he’s always challenging himself. He’ll tinker on an idea until way past dawn in his home studio or move the piano into the living room for two days (while his girlfriend is out of town) in order to tirelessly search for the perfect acoustics.

It’s also why he opted to gather a handful of friends, head to the studio as “a band,” and make his second full-length solo album, For Cryin’ Out Loud! [Interscope Records], the old-fashioned way.

“The majority of the record was written as we played together,” he notes. “It’s a process I hadn’t done since high school. If I write a song on piano by myself, I can play the drums, bass, and guitar on top of it. I can paint a picture of how a band could sound albeit very slowly. Or, I can have five people in a room, and we can make it sound good instantly. When I’m collaborating with other artists, I feed off their energy, but I’ve never done that on a solo record until now.”

Even with all he’s accomplished, it was still new territory. FINNEAS and his sister (and best friend) Billie Eilish have received 10 GRAMMY® Awards and two Golden Globe® Awards in addition to emerging as “the youngest two-time Academy® Award winners in history.” As a songwriter, producer, and creative cohort, his collaborations span Justin Bieber, Halsey, Demi Lovato, Kid Cudi, Selena Gomez, and Camila Cabello as well as tunes with Ashe and Ringo Starr. His impact has also reverberated through film and television, whether it be writing Academy® Award-winning songs for blockbusters a la Barbie and No Time To Die or composing scores for Academy® Award winner Alfonso Cuarón’s Apple TV+ series Disclaimer, The Fallout, Vengeance, and more.

During 2019, his solo debut EP, Blood Harmony, yielded the gold-certified “Let’s Fall In Love for the Night” and fan favorites “I Lost a Friend” and “Break My Heart Again.” On its heels, The Optimist [2021] housed “What They’ll Say About Us.” Along the way, he graced the covers of publications, including V Man and Billboard. Plus, he performed on Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel LIVE! and captivated crowds on tour and at Coachella.

At the end of 2023, he invited a cohort of friends - Aron Forbes [bass, co-engineer], Matthew “rat” Fildey [guitar], Miles Morris [drums], and Lucy [keys, background vocals]—to meet him in the live room at Frogtown where they would “stop by for five days at a time and just jam.”

“The goal was to do short days and create songs from nothing,” he elaborates. “Somebody would have a cool idea, and we’d jam on it for hours. Nine-out-of-ten songs came about that way. I made the last album in a room alone. That was fulfilling and interesting, but I knew I was going to evolve the most by creating the new record in a different way. There were no expectations. All that mattered was, ‘How does this music feel to make and listen to?’”

With candles lit and all ideas welcome, they recorded “easily 75% of the record live.” In essence, the sessions brought FINNEAS back to his most formative influences. “It’s funny because until I was 18, I only listened to bands,” he laughs. “It was The Beatles, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, My Chemical Romance, and Fleetwood Mac. It was such a joy to be in this environment I always wanted to be in.”

He set the stage for the record with the title track and lead single “For Cryin’ Out Loud.” Hazy synths glide over a steady drumbeat, strains of faint guitar, and boisterous horns. His vulnerable delivery gives way to a chantable chorus, “For cryin’ out loud, I’m calling your name, you’re wearing me out, but I love you the same.”

“The title is a phrase of exasperation, and it reflected the world I was living in at the time,” he notes. “For me, these songs aren’t cut-and-dry and easily categorizable as ‘breakup songs’ or ‘love songs.’ They’re about a complex and nuanced relationship. I always say, ‘For Cryin’ Out Loud’, and it felt like a funny name for an album. It’s very expressive.”

A glitchy loop pulsates through the airy hum of “2001.” Funky guitar weaves around handclaps and another infectious refrain. “It’s a metaphor for a space western,” he grins. “The song could be about someone who blows up their positive relationship, but we’re dressing it up with all of this imagery of being in deep space and floating away.”

As the only track composed by FINNEAS solo at home, the opener “Starfucker” swoons from cinematic verses into the suffocating embrace of a bold and biting hook, “You starfucker! I love you against my better judgment.”

“The album has a lot of big, loud, and anthemic moments, but I love the intimacy of coming in on just a piano and me,” he observes. “Then, the band kicks in on the second verse.”

For Cryin’ Out Loud concludes with the cathartic “Lotus Eater.” A loose guitar riff practically glows as his vocals alternate between hypnotic humming and a resounding refrain. “It’s a weird, personal one,” he admits. “When you write a song, it can be very confessional—like you took a picture of yourself naked. If you play it for somebody else, they might see you fully clothed, even though you feel so exposed. There are these verses about being in love. The meaning is open to interpretation, but I loved it from the moment we played it.”

For as much as FINNEAS loves this record, you may very well love it even more.

“My favorite way to listen to any album is on my headphones during a hike or on a nice long ride,” he leaves off. “I hope this record is cohesive enough for you to put the first song on, drive 40 minutes, and listen to the whole thing. Most of this was written in second person. So it’s like this album is me sitting across the table from you and talking about where you’re at in life.”