....which is what our boys from New Zealand wanted to call this one. Simply a sublime record, with Neil Finn at the top of his songwriting form. Neil mined his tortured soul for the inspiration with which to craft songs like I Feel Possessed, Into Temptation, and Better Be Home Soon. There simply isn't a weak or filler track on this album.

The whims of the pop world and the fickle nature of the record industry have buried many a fine album, but none of those lost gems has been as deserving of mass success as Crowded House's "Temple of Low Men". An assured and thoughtful follow-up to their poppier debut, "Temple" is, quite simply, the best album of the band's rather troubled history (if you can find it, read "Something So Strong" by Chris Bourke to get a glimpse into their tumultuous career) and one of the best pop records ever. Why? Its darker, more somber tone is often mentioned as a knock, but the dynamic elements of the LP are undeniable - the swing from the melancholy of "Into Temptation" and "Better Be Home Soon" juxtaposed against the rollicking "Sister Madly" and buoyant "When You Come" makes for an incredibly satisfying musical experience. There is not a weak track in the bunch, and the band have never played or emoted better; Neil Finn is at his absolute peak as both a singer and a songwriter, and Nick Seymour and Paul Hester play with the confidence gleaned from their early "Don't Dream It's Over" chart success. All that, and Mitchell Froom's stellar production, make for an album that refuses to age.

The band's first album, 1986's Crowded House, had the big hits, but Temple of Low Men finds the brooding heart of Neil Finn's unsurpassed songwriting. Mitchell Froom's production hits just the right notes, with antique keyboards and sound effects subtly complementing the band's drums-bass-guitar lineup. They (and Finn separately) went on to make more great music, but never with as much focus and dreamy melancholy.