''Blood Harmony'' is the debut

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

by American singer-songwriter Finneas. It was released by his

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

OYOY, distributed by

AWAL AWAL (shortened from Artists Without A Label) is a global recording business that claims to serve as an alternative to the traditional record label, offering deal structures that provide artists with the resources and expertise of a global label ...

, on October 4, 2019. All of the material on the EP was produced and written by Finneas. ''Blood Harmony'' was supported by the release of four

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, from 2018 to 2019. The

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

, " Let's Fall in Love for the Night" peaked at numbers 17 and 24 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-play ...

and

Rock Airplay The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

charts, respectively. Finneas toured the United States throughout October 2019 in support of the EP. A deluxe edition was released on August 7, 2020, featuring the 2018 single " Break My Heart Again" and a new version of "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" entitled "Let's Fall in Love for the Night (1964)". The EP peaked at number 14 on the US

Heatseekers Albums The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...

chart and number 47 on the Lithuanian Albums chart.

Background and release

Finneas teased ''Blood Harmony'' in August 2019. The EP marked Finneas' first solo release after co-writing and producing material for his sister

Billie Eilish Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O'Connell ( ; born December 18, 2001) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single "Ocean Eyes (song), Ocean Eyes", written and produced by her broth ...

for several years. He expressed a desire for the "title to remain ambiguous to listeners, and for everyone to be able to imbue it with their own meaning and justification", but clarified that "blood harmony" is an "expression for what it sounds like when siblings sing together, that biologic chemistry — I think that speaks for itself".

Composition and lyrics

''Blood Harmony'' is primarily a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

record. The EP opens with " I Lost a Friend", an

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

. The song features minimalist production of

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, layered harmonies, an aggressive beat, and

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

. Lyrically, it addresses the pain and confusion when losing a friend. The following track, "

Shelter A shelter is an architectural structure or natural formation (or a combination of the two) providing protection from the local environment. A shelter can serve as a home or be provided by a residential institution. It can be understood as both ...

", is a pop-based track. The track features a tropical beat, electric guitar,

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

-based guitars, drum beats,

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

choir effect that appear during the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

, reverb'd handclaps,

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

y vocal embellishment, and rapid phrasing in the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

. Lyrically, "Shelter" is about a love for a girl that brings Finneas peace but has an undercurrent of trouble. Tosten Burks, writing for ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' magazine, compared the track to the works of

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

. "Lost My Mind" is a more subdued track. Lyrically, Finneas realizes he is in love and wonders if his feelings are really true. " I Don't Miss You at All" was described as a "longing" dark pop track. It sees Finneas sing about F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of the 1925 classic novel ''

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' () is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...

'', and express his desire to reunite with his past lover while getting angry when the past seemingly blends gets into the present. "Partners in Crime" addresses a story of a dangerous and fading love, and reveals the result of buying into Hollywood stereotypes of intertwining love and thrill-seeking. " Let's Fall in Love for the Night" is a pop track. The song's lyrics are about a girl Finneas has never met in person but finds comfort by dreaming about being together with her in an alternate universe, but only temporarily. ''Blood Harmony'' closes with "Die Alone", a romantic meditation about love. The deluxe edition of ''Blood Harmony'' contains two extra tracks. " Break My Heart Again" is an

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

ballad. The sound of typing and sending messages is heard for the majority of the song, with it being almost entirely composed of real texts between Finneas and a former lover. Lyrically, Finneas confesses to being constantly hurt by the one he cares about. An alternative version of "Let's Fall in Love for the Night", titled "Let's Fall in Love for the Night (1964)", is a

lullaby A lullaby (), or a cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies, they are used to pass down cultural knowl ...

-influenced track. Critical commentary noted the influence of

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Release and promotion

''Blood Harmony'' was released by Finneas'

OYOY, and distributed by

, on October 4, 2019. A deluxe edition of the EP was released on August 7, 2020. "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" was released as the

from ''Blood Harmony'' on October 19, 2018. Although the song did not chart initially, it became a

sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game or other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release, but eventually became a surprise success. A sleeper hit may have ...

in 2020, peaking at number 17 and 24 on the US ''

and

charts, respectively. It has received a gold

certification Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

in Canada by

Music Canada Music Canada is a non-profit Industry trade group, trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to s ...

(MC), which denotes track-equivalent sales of forty-thousand units based on sales and streams. A

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the track was released on March 19, 2020, and received its broadcast on MTV Live,

MTVU MTVU (formerly stylized as MtvU and mtvU) is an American digital cable TV channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group, a unit of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. MTVU programming initially served 750 college and univ ...

, MTV International, and the ''Viacom Times Square Billboards''. The music video was shot in one take and directed by Sam Bennett, while choreographed by Monika Felice Smith. "I Lost a Friend" was released on May 3, 2019, as the second single from ''Blood Harmony''. An accompanying music video was released on June 25, 2019, and was also directed by Bennett and shot in one take in Lanchester, California. The song received a remix by Marian Hill, which was released on December 13, 2019. The EP's third single, "Shelter", was released on August 22, 2019. A music video for "Shelter" was directed by Bennett on September 30, 2019. It was also shot in one take. "I Don't Miss You at All" was released as the fourth and final single from ''Blood Harmony'' on September 30, 2019.

Live performances

Finneas promoted ''Blood Harmony'' with a series of public appearances and televised live performances. He toured throughout the United States during October 2019, in support of ''Blood Harmony''. That same month, Finneas performed a majority of ''Blood Harmony'' songs at the

Austin City Limits Music Festival Austin City Limits (ACL) Music Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Zilker Park in Austin, Texas, on two consecutive three-day weekends and is inspired by the KLRU/PBS music series ''Austin City Limits''. The festival is pro ...

. In December 2019, Finneas performed "I Lost a Friend" and "I Don't Miss You at All" on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...

''. On February 3, 2020, he performed "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...

'' and was joined by a live band.

Reception

Will Richards writing for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'', said the songs on ''Blood Harmony'' are "exquisite" and have an update "with fresh, modern production tweaks". For ''

'' magazine, Glenn Rowley praised the EP, saying "Finneas' work as a solo artist is decidedly brighter, his soulful voice tying each song together as his lyrics swings through the vast spectrum of human emotion". Nicole Almeida of ''Atwood Magazine'' wrote that ''Blood Harmony'' is the "most transitional point of Finneas' career". She continued, saying the EP is a "songwriting and production triumph". ''Blood Harmony'' was a commercial underperformance, peaking at number 14 on the US ''Billboard''

chart and number 47 on the Lithuanian Albums chart.

Track listing

Personnel

* Finneas –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

* Justin Hergett – mixing * John Greenham – mastering * Luke Fenstemaker – cover art, design

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2019 debut EPs Albums produced by Finneas O'Connell EPs by American artists Finneas O'Connell albums Pop albums by American artists