Hurrah, Crowded House have announced they'll reform after a ten year break, with a tour and new album planned. The webmaster of the Neil Finn website Frenz.com, Peter Green, has confirmed rumours in the Aussie press about the reunion, while organisers of the Coachella Festival have announced the band will appear at this year's event.
Finn, of course, had pledged never to reform the band after the suicide of fellow founding member Paul Hester back in 2005, but has since had a change of heart. On the prospect of new Crowded House without Hester, Green has written on Frenz.com: "It's an instant knee-jerk reaction, 'no Paul no Crowded House' for some, and, you know, that's actually okay. Simply don't see them or play the new record. But there is a good chance you might be missing out on something special. Sometimes it's worth taking a leap of faith and giving something a chance. Neil has had a hankering to play in a band again and what better band to do this in but the one he had the most joy with?"
The new Crowded House album is seemingly a development of what began as a Neil Finn solo album. Billboard had already reported that the third Crowded House co-founder Nick Seymour was involved in that project, which no doubt explains why it has morphed into a full Crowded House release. Former member Mark Hart will also be involved in the reunited band, though Neil's brother Tim will not. It is not yet clear who will replace Hester on drums.