Finn Doherty - The Middle Ground | Song Review


 Finn Doherty is a 19 year old artist from North London but based in Norwich. He has been making original music since he was 7 years old, and is now self-releasing homemade singles and EPs. Last year, Finn played a run of shows over the Summer, which included a main support slot for Hobo Johnson and The Lovemakers, sets at Latitude and Sundown festivals, and live sessions for BBC Introducing and GAK.

Finn has now released his new single 'The Middle Ground' which begins with an acoustic guitar before the beat and Finn's vocals arrive centre stage. I personally really like the song, it should certainly be somewhere on the charts. Finn is such a talented artist that really needs more recognition.

The song starts off slow but when it gets to the first chorus, Finn's vocals shine through a slow snappy production. I am not a massive fan of slow, ballad-kind-of songs but I wouldn't call this a ballad, it is a little upbeat to be a ballad - I really like it.

In my own personal opinion, it feels like this song is missing something. I can't describe what it is missing but in some parts of the song it feels a bit 'quiet'. Maybe it is something in the production, maybe adding another melody would 'fill' the song. I am not sure, I can't put my finger on it but I like the song anyway so it isn't a major issue.

I got the chance to do a little Q&A session with Finn Doherty about his music career and his new single 'The Middle Ground':

What was the inspiration behind ‘The Middle Ground’?
 
The Middle Ground came about during a very difficult part of last year where I was stuck in a position I didn't want to be in. It's really all about making a jump, getting out of a situation you don't want to be in, especially when that's easier said than done. 
 
What was the recording/writing process like for this song?
 
I wrote and produced the majority of the song the first day I started working on it, which was around mid-August last year. I then just spent months and months working on the arrangement and the mix, but the actual writing and recording process was super fast. 
 
Talk me through the process of coming up with a song like ‘The Middle Ground’.
 
The process of this song was completely natural, I remember I got home from somewhere, I don't remember where, but it was really early one morning. I think it was about 7:30 or 8am and I just got in and sat down with a guitar, at my laptop straight away. I started with the guitar part, which was originally way faster, and then the drums. It all sort of flowed out of me and before I knew it it was like 5pm, I hadn't eaten a thing all day but I had this song that I was really excited about. 
 
How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t listened to it before?
 
I usually tell people it's alternative pop, which I think it's pretty accurate. I think people assume my music is going to be quite straight forward singer-songwriter stuff when I tell them what I do, but I listen to a lot of Hip-Hop and a lot of Indie stuff, plus everything in between, so I think it really draws from a lot of different places. 
 
Who / What are your major influences in your music?
 
I like that this question asks "what" my influences are, not just "who", because I'd say I'm influenced and inspired massively by watching live music and being surrounded by art in all sorts of forms as much as I am by listening to records, so it isn't always about "who" influences my music. Right now music wise, I'm listening to a lot of D'Angelo, Jay-Z, just lots of stuff with great grooves, as well as stuff like Lucy Roseand Florence + The Machine
 
Who would your dream collaboration be?
 
I've got quite a few of these.. If I had to pick one right now, I'd probably say Saba; I'm obsessed with his 'Care For Me' album at the moment. 
 
What are you currently working on? Any new music, shows etc?
 
I've got lots on the go at the moment, mainly writing and recording new stuff, so working on lots of new songs and demos and just playing with sounds and new ideas really. In terms of shows, I'm playing Karma Kafe in Norwich on April 12th for a charity event, raising money for Joe's Crusade, then we're up at Epic Studios supporting Ben Haenow on April 25th. There's more too and it'll all be on my social media or listed on my Bandsintownpage.  

 

Overall Rating:

★★★★☆

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