FIONN: CLASS WITH SASS

Meet Fionn. No, we’re not talking about the new Irish pub down the street. We are talking about the powerhouse duo with so many musical stylings and influences they’ve created their own unique sound.

Twin sisters, Alanna and Brianne Fionn-Morris are set to take the music world by storm. Their latest outing “I Might Start Smoking” is gaining national and international attention with the lead single, “TAKE ME OUT” hitting the airwaves across Canada. The duo stopped by Edmonton recently as they have a few shows across Canada to promote the album. Catch them while you can, they are destined for bigger stages. Do not suffer from FOMO. Just go. Side effects may include infectious energy and ear worms for days.

Fionn in Edmonton

The album is punchy as hell and has lyrics you might expect from long seasoned vets in the business. Going through their back catalogue I could tell Fionn was not your run of the mill pop tarts. These girls are not just jumping or being thrown into the music machine to catch a few dollars from well fabricated marketing, slick production and someone else’s radio friendly auto-tune schlock. No. Fionn are serious about their musical journey. Their lyrics have always been smart and catchy such as Magazine Face, from their first self titled album: “I was okay until the day I traded me in for a magazine face” capturing most young girls desire to be noticed but also recognizing the inner pain that comes with such attention. One of my favourites off that first album was Skeleton with lines like “You see my youth, see my skirt, see my skin… Love my skeleton love my bones.” That’s deep. Deeper than most lyrics you hear on popular radio these days. That’s what separated Fionn from the masses and noise when they started out and that cerebral writing is even more prevalent in “I Might Start Smoking.” “18″ “4 Leaf Clovers” and “Please Don’t Leave” are some fine examples of future hits.

“I Might Start Smoking sums up our second coming of age. We’ve found our early adulthood comparable to a brand-new form of childhood dizzying us with fresh experiences and chaotic emotions. We started working on this record over a year ago in our hometown White Rock, BC with Jared Maneirka. We made as many demos as we could and added only our favourites to a ‘quality folder’. We also spent hours in Max Cunningham’s home studio writing the title track while trying to find ways to lace Celtic accents into our alternative pop/rock creations. We then made it back to 604 studios (our second home) to write a few songs with our long-standing collaborator Kevvy Maher screaming angsty backup vocals and playing around with electric guitar tones, throwing it back to when we made our 2020 EP ‘Everyone’s a Critic,” explains Fionn.

Fionn in Edmonton

Speaking with them recently in Edmonton I asked about the diary connection and wondered if they were concerned with comparisons to Taylor Swift, “A lot of girls from our generation started writing in their diary and that’s where the songs come from. We may have started mimicking her because she’s our idol and she inspired us. If people are going to compare our music to hers it’s a huge compliment.” For me they are part Florence and the Machine, Taylor Swift and a whole lot of Avril Lavigne with a dash of Brittany Spears. But the comparisons fall short of their own sound. You may hear something else, but what ever you hear, you will be singing along in no time and hitting repeat.

Expect everything at a Fionn show. Dance numbers, acoustic ballads, ex boyfriend angst rants and even a bubble machine. One thing that surprised me the most was a mandolin, “We’ve been expanding our sound and like to keep to our Celtic roots. We are still the most comfortable playing acoustic because that’s what we grew up with. We began busking on Granville Island at the age of 12.” The energy of the drum tracks add to their live show and give the music a great punch.

For an album that’s only been out for a few months another shock for me was the number of people singing along to their songs. I get how catchy “TAKE ME OUT” and it’s an immediate ear worm, but even the title track had people singing along, “This is the first time we’ve seen a considerable amount of people singing the lyrics back to us. It’s surreal. This will be a very memorable show for us. It’s different in Vancouver having people come out to our shows because we know lots of people. But to come to Edmonton and see the number of people singing along is wild.”

It truly was a memorable show and it may go down as one of those ‘glad I was there’ moments. I’m not one to put artists into one category or another as many transgress across genres, “We often get asked what are you and I always say ‘I’m a human being that’s ever changing that has many tastes and influences.” Fionn is straight ahead Rock/Folk/Dance/Pop/ music. Check them out today.