Crowded House at The Pavilion at Ravinia

Known for their massive hits from back in the day, such as "Fall at Your Feet", "Weather with You", "Better Be Home Soon", "Distant Sun", and "Don't Dream It's Over", CROWDED HOUSE is making its big comeback with a new album out this May. Scheduled for release by the end of the month via BMG, the band is set to bring "Gravity Stairs" on tour. Sharing new singles "Oh Hi" and "Teenage Summer", we're all stoked to hear what they've got in the whole album.

Sharing a blend of the band's signature familiar sound with some new flair in the mix, "Oh Hi" takes inspiration from frontman Neil Finn's advocacy for So They Can, a nonprofit dedicated to building schools in Tanzania and Kenya.

"I’m hoping the song comes across without needing to know the backstory," he shared in an official release. "But it’s very much inspired by these incredible kids and their magnificence."

On the album, Gravity Stairs draws inspiration from a stone staircase Finn stumbled upon on holiday trips. He relates the piece to his own vision and journey as an artist. "It’s a metaphor for getting a little older and becoming aware of your own mortality, your own physicality," he explains. "Things are getting a little harder, and there’s more determination needed to get to the top, but there’s still the same compulsion to climb them."

Inspired by what he values most, "Teenage Summer" also sheds light on how important children's lives are. "My grandson Manaia told me ‘Teenage Summer’ was one of his favorite songs," Finn shared. "He’d identified the peak moment in the song and a light went on. It’s that simple, the children must be heard."

The band's new album sure does send lights of happiness around the globe. "It’s sort of about the joy of observing children, being part of their story, creating a good environment for them, then actually getting a lot back [in return] from that," Finn shared about "Oh Hi", via Billboard.

Formed in 1985, the band has seen some breaks in between and a couple of lineup changes. First disbanded in 1996 after a series of farwell shows, they came back in 2006 with drummer Matt Sherrod. After another hiatus, the band was once again reignited in 2020, led by Neil Finn as the frontman, joined by Nick Seymour, Mitchell Froom, and Finn's sons Liam and Elroy. The year after, they released their album "Dreamers Are Waiting".

About their comeback, "we don’t want to be that same band now," Finn tells Rolling Stone. Though there's still hints of the familiar Crowded House from the '80s and '90s, they've taken inspiration from newer sonic elements these days. "I like to think the songs can be equally as good," as he explains how some people might not immediately find their new material catchy or classify it as an instant classic. "When we handed our first record into Capitol, nobody was saying it was going to go straight onto the radio. They were like, “I don’t know if you have the singles.” Sometimes hits and popular songs aren’t obvious until they happen."

Now, don't miss out on CROWDED HOUSE's comeback shows in support of "Gravity Stairs" by booking your tickets now!