London’s Finn Doherty steps into the spotlight with his debut EP, “if you’re bored of this city,” a compelling thematic mix of desire, self-destruction, and the quest for identity. Masterfully mixed and mastered by Lavar Bullard, this seven-track collection delves into the complexities of urban life and personal relationships, encapsulating a pivotal period in Doherty’s life.
Over seven tracks, the EP weaves together pop, indie and electronic elements. Each track unfolds a new narrative thread, weaving together a whirlwind of emotions on Finn’s search for authenticity. Throughout the EP, Finn’s captivating and authentic representation of bisexuality and growing up grounds each of the soundworlds. Finn says,
“‘if you’re bored of this city’ is a project about desire, self-destruction, and the search for identity. It was inspired by a relationship that was complicated by an internal exploration of my own sexual identity, and the music that soundtracked that experience. The EP follows the experience of the city of dreams becoming the city of nightmares, a city that became the playing field for reckless behaviour and a longing for something more, a desire for excitement, and a distraction from the complexities of my own self-discovery.”
Sonically, “if you’re bored of this city” is a captivating and interesting listen. Moments of electronic distortion, intricate synths, and unexpected breakdowns fuel this EP, making each track an exciting evolution of Finn Doherty’s sound. Opening with a stunning intro, ‘long nights with your city’ kicks off the songs with arrestingly tender and intimate vocals from Finn. Sitting at track four, KMU fuses together a rock-driven sound with enticing electronic elements, blurring them together and making a heavy-hitting sonic landscape for Finn’s powerful vocal personae to sail over.
A standout on the EP is the poignant “Your Love Won’t Take Me Home.” This intimate acoustic track reveals Finn’s vulnerability with crystalline precision, capturing the moment of realizing an unworkable relationship. It’s a poignant portrayal of unrequited love, resonating deeply within the queer experience. Finn describes it as,
“the acceptance, the realization that some love remains unrequited beyond the realms of simple pleasure. Falling for someone who will never reciprocate is one of the most universal experiences as a queer individual, and this song speaks directly to that feeling. It feels like a long car ride home. A walk in the rain under soft orange street lights.”
“Your Love Won’t Take Me Home” was the first song Finn wrote for the EP, and it became the emotional anchor for the entire project. He reflects, “It became easy to mold a whole project around it once I realized that this was the most sincere sentiment of any song I’d ever written, and spoke most truly of an experience that almost tore me apart. With “if you’re bored of this city,” Finn Doherty emerges as a fiercely driven, self-made artist, making his mark not just in the UK but on the global music scene. From this debut, it’s clear Finn Doherty is one to watch, as he boldly as he navigates the intricacies of the human heart with remarkable depth and honesty with a genre-blurring sound unique to the rising star.
