Finch is an American post-hardcore band from Temecula, California, formed in 1999. Despite the band's hiatus through 2006 and 2007 and breakup in late 2010, the band has firmly established themselves as a staple of the emo genre. In total, the band has released three studio albums, three extended plays, seven singles, six music videos, two live albums, and an acoustic album.
Their debut album, What It Is To Burn, released in 2002, was especially influential in the emo genre, practically defining it through the early 2000's and in turn influencing bands such as Saosin, A Day to Remember and The Amity Affliction. It featured a hybrid of post hardcore, emo and pop-punk sounds and proved essential in shaping the sound of the mid-2000s. Their second album Say Hello To Sunshine introduced a new and experimental sound; it was darker and more abrasive, and while it was also well-received it did not find the same acclaim that their first album had had. After its release, the band faced hardship as its members had been focusing on different projects, resulting in the band's hiatus in early 2006. For the next year and a half the band would remain off the radar, until their reunion in late 2007, which was met by the release of their self-titled EP the following year. During this time the band would begin working on a third album, which would never materialize: They broke up in 2010, leaving behind an EP entitled Epilogue which featured two of the songs that were to be included on this third album.
The year 2012 saw the 10th anniversary of the band's landmark album What It Is to Burn, which the band's members had decided to celebrate by playing a group of shows commemorating the album. Seeing its success, renewed interest in songwriting and performing came about, which materialized with the band's reunion and the release of their third album Back to Oblivion, released in 2014. Again, this album featured a different style of music than the two albums that came before it, a sound that leaned much closer towards alternative rock, but still distinguished itself as being something other than a rehash. It too was well-received by critics.
The band's lineup has remained somewhat consistent despite its turbulent history; their current lineup features frontman Nate Barcalow, lead guitarist Randy Strohmeyer, rhythm guitarist Alex Linares, drummer Alex Pappas, and bass guitarist Daniel Wonacott. Pappas had initially left the band in 2004, though he would return in 2012 for the band's second reunion. In the intermediate time, drummers Marc Allen and then Drew Marcogliese filled his position. Bass guitarist Derek Doherty was featured in the band's original lineup, but would ultimately depart the band for good after the band's hiatus, during which time he was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 15 months in prison.
The band broke up for good in 2016.
Studio Discography
- 2002 - What It Is to Burn
- 2005 - Say Hello to Sunshine
- 2014 - Back to Oblivion
Extended Plays
- 2001 - Falling Into Place
- 2008 - Finch
- 2010 - Epilogue
The band Finch provides examples of the following tropes:
- Careful with That Axe: Lots, especially in Say Hello to Sunshine.
- Darker and Edgier: Say Hello to Sunshine in its entirety. As mentioned above, the album introduced a new, more experimental and abrasive sound, and with it came darker lyrics and themes.
- Grief Song: "A Man Alone", quite simply a song about general depression.
- Limited Lyrics Song: "Project Mayhem".She shouts, "The most incessant, the most deplete"
She said, "Show me conscience, with nothing to eat"
She said, "Null the worm"
Let's sober up
Caught in time with the fizz of the burn
And so we burn
Can you begin at the ending so that I may begin again?
I took this from you, I thought I was you
Now don't misunderstand me, I never meant to create you
Only mayhem! - New Sound Album: Finch did this twice, first with Say Hello to Sunshine and then again with Back to Oblivion.
- Re-release the Song: "Perfection Through Silence" and "Letters to You" both appeared on the band's first EP Falling Into Place, later to be re-recorded for What It Is to Burn.
- Shout-Out:
- "Project Mayhem" appears to be inspired by Fight Club.
- "The Casket of Roderic Usher" is a song inspired by the Edgar Allan Poe short story, "The Fall of The House of Usher".
- “Bitemarks and Bloodstains” was inspired by D.Gray-Man
- While unconfirmed, the song "Reduced to Teeth" appears to also reference an Edgar Allan Poe short story, "Berenice".
- Title Track: "What It Is to Burn" and "Back to Oblivion".
