Fink Distance and Time by: Kat Muscat Tue:11-Dec-07 Label: Ninja Tune Year: 2007 WB rating 67 out of 100

You glance at the cover art and assume the album is going to be another angry, commercial hip-hop bore. It is stark, “Fink” written in what is either meant to be spattered red ink or blood in the bottom right corner. Thankfully, Distance and Time delivers something else entirely.

The sound is like Jack Johnson meets the Mutton Birds for a few shots of whiskey. It is now two drinks in and the conversation has started circling around the concepts of waiting, and being left behind. It draws itself out by degrees, working with the tone of an emotion rather than trying to encapsulate everything.

Distance and Time sets itself apart from the throng with its combination of insight and restraint. There is an unmistakably autobiographical quality to all the songs. It places the emphasis on getting a story across rather than taking a strangle hold of your heartstrings, the lyrics conveying understanding and thoughtfulness minus the typical self-indulgence. One of the best examples is in ‘Blueberry Pancakes’ – “I'll have another pint of Stella please, Brooke/and I remember before this place was so cool and so full”. Such simple sentiments register and it is this relatable style that gives the songs their potency – the album itself made successful because it taps into common emotions and prompts you to add your own meaning to Fink’s narrative.

Fink are obviously not out to reinvent their chosen style. The acoustic guitar stays clean for most of the album with clear, cyclic riffs and an underbelly of a bassline following along obediently, while the percussion is complementary to the melody. Keys play minor chords while strings harmonize, along with occasional additional vocals which make Fink’s voice resonate heavy through the words.
The only real exception to this is on the last track - ‘Little Blue Mailbox’, where the guitar gets dirty for a softly grinding chorus. But it’s a change you have to pay attention for, as it is seamlessly incorporated.

As a result of these familiar themes and relatively safe style, the songs do tend to be formulaic. The structure generally consists of intro-verse-chorus – whose main line is usually clipped to become the title. This shouldn’t be regarded as a negative in itself. Like a cliché, a good song structure became so because it worked for a lot of people for a long time. And, while being noticeable, Distance and Time doesn’t bludgeon you over the head with its traditional structure. Each track has its own subtle touches or imperfections that help the album stay fresh after a few run-throughs, which is important when there’s a total of nine tracks. You’ll hear the unselfconscious slide of fingers across frets, the slight reverberation of a chord – small, often accidental touches that the album is so much richer for.

If you take another look at the cover, what appeared to be a stencil now reveals different shades of black and grey. The brushstrokes and the tones become more obvious – which nicely illustrates that this is not a shallow, generic copy. Fink may have their heart on their sleeve but they haven’t created an oversensitive album and that in itself makes it refreshing and worthwhile.