Neil Finns latest solo album, Out of Silence , offers us the gift of catharsis in a season of unpredictable politics and societal division. This month, the Crowded House singer has returned with ten songs about family relationships, romance, self-examination and life after terrorism and theyre all set to the most beautiful string, brass and choral arrangements Ive heard in ages.

Whenever rock stars hire an orchestra, theres a danger of creating sentimental sap or of failing to bring a too-grandiose musical vision to life. Thankfully, Out of Silence touches all the right nerves; rather than a decidedly classical project or cinema soundtrack, the album feels like something The Beatles late producer George Martin might have loved the chance to put together: Each cut is flecked with Neil Finns reliable optimism and built around Steinway pianos, traditional instruments, and a handful of what the New Zealand songwriter calls characterful voices backing him. I just wanted to hear singing like youd get around a campfire with friends, he says of the Kiwi all-star vocalists he asked to join in. Sometimes writing [alone] can be very insular, so being in a room and teaching people music was a very positive thing.

To make the record, Finn says he holed up in his Auckland studio, where he experimented with piano riffs hed discovered during a fruitful late-night burst of inspiration a couple of years ago. After finalizing the notation with his longtime arranger Victoria Kelly (The Hobbit), he brought in his singers, plus a mini-symphony, sons Liam and Elroy, and his brother Tim Finn (onetime Crowded House and Split Enz bandmate). Then he streamed the recording process live on Facebook every Friday in August (cue the Infinity Sessions ). The weekly videos fit right at home in the 21st century music industrys D.I.Y. climate and have created instant musical connections between Finns fans and the new songs.

On the resulting recordings, Finns melodic work is nearly matchless. The soul-searching More Than One of You and Chameleon Days are introspective yet hummable; Second Nature , a tribute to the heroism of everyday love affairs, gallops breathlessly to the swirl of staccato strings a la Electric Light Orchestra; the intricate intervals of Alone are lush without pretense (besting even Paul McCartneys 1989 Distractions); The Law is Always On Your Side is a Crowded House-style pub tune sung as a parable; the ballad I Know Different references Hemingways The Old Man and the Sea as a metaphor for overcoming personal crisis; and Terrorise Me, penned after the 2015 Bataclan massacre in Paris, is a defiant waltz about the value of making music in the face of chaos and horror.

Finns home country is slightly detached from the hotbed of global angst (its further away from North Korea than Los Angeles); He says recording Out of Silence there made him feel fortunate to be on the other side of the world, to some degree, The album doesnt openly discuss nuclear threats, natural disasters, and political nonsense, but the songs fitness and readiness to assuage these stressors is implied measure by measure. The gorgeous Love is Emotional is Finns plainspoken plea for love and understanding in relationships at every level. The music is a recognition of isolation, but is also a reaching out to find warmth and human contact, Finn says, adding, If this album is some form of escape or comfort, Id be happy about that.

Dont Dream Its Over, a song he wrote for Crowded House in 1986, also continues to soothe and empower more than three decades after its release. Finn was already in the process of making Out of Silence when his band performed Dont Dream Its Over at a concert in Australia in the days after POTUS was elected in 2016. The song has been covered by Torontos Choir! Choir! Choir! , New Yorks PS 22 Chorus and a half dozen high profile artists, including Eddie Vedder, Chris Martin, Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande . But on the steps of Sydney Opera House last November, its open-ended verses about not letting the world build walls between people unwittingly formed an anthem of resistance thats still going strong.

Neil Finn is OK with that even though he insists its just a song.

When the world goes to hell in a handcart, as it were, an opposite and equal reaction will eventually manifest, he says. Youve got to believe in the overall goodness of the human spirit.