That there are more than a few references to air travel on Liam Finn's latest release, the six-track EP Champagne in Seashells, should come as no surprise to those aware of the New Zealand songwriter's itinerary over the past couple of years.
In the words of the flying Finn: "It has been crazy."
He describes Champagne in Seashells, released on Monday, as "a document of a small moment in time".
In other words, Finn managed to squeeze in a few weeks recording at father Neil's Auckland recording studio in April before heading back to the northern hemisphere for another round of touring.
He's back in New Zealand, speaking (again) from the Roundhead studio where he has been working on a collaborative album with old mates James Milne (of Lawrence of Arabia) and Conan Mockasin.
The trio had talked about such a project "for years"; now that it's been completed, they are hitting the road for a four-date national tour, which opens at Dunedin's Refuel venue on Wednesday, August 26.
It seems Roundhead, the same studio in which 2007 debut solo album, I'll Be Lightning was produced, is something of a transit lounge for Finn.
If he's not on the road somewhere, more often than not he'll be found there.
Take last Christmas, for instance.
Though the break back home gave him the chance to reflect with some pride on the fact he'd survived a hectic 2008 (before realising his manager had planned the next two years of his life), he spent a fair deal of the holiday working with his dad and brother Elroy on the second instalment of the 7 Worlds Collide project.
Titled The Sun Came Out, the double studio album is released on August 31 and follows the 2002 live collaboration that featured Neil Finn, Johnny Marr and Radiohead's Ed O'Brien and Phil Selway.
Those luminaries return, joined by Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy and KT Tunstall.
The 25-year-old Finn contributes to eight of the 24 tracks; he sings, plays guitar, adds electronic loops here and there, even drums in one song.
More importantly, it was Liam who convinced his father to put aside his doubts and "calm down" as the project drew closer.
Listen to his new EP, however, and it's clear life is not always calm for Finn.
Self-produced by Finn, mixed by engineering wizard Tchad Blake (who has worked with Tom Waits, Gomez, Pearl Jam and Crowded House), Champagne in Seashells may have more than a flourish of the delicate psychedelic strains to which the songwriter has long been drawn, but its skewed soundscapes also convey upheaval and movement, a sense that his wandering occurs in a hectic half-light.
"It reflects what is going on in my life," Finn explains.
"When I listen to it, it's definitely where I was at when I was back in New Zealand at the beginning of the year after two years of pretty solid touring. I still am in a manic state; I haven't slowed down.
"I like the idea of not having that long a break between albums. I like the idea of Eps. The record industry is completely different now. I think attention spans are a bit shorter, so giving people six tracks ... I like the concise package.
"We had about three weeks to do it. We ended up with enough stuff to make a record but I liked the idea of not putting too much pressure on ourselves," Finn says in reference to his studio work with Eliza-Jane Barnes, with whom he has toured and performed for the last two years.
"It was the first time we've got to collaborate on tape, which was great.
"Over the last couple of years we've built up such an energy together, a good dynamic of playing off each other, and I wanted to capture that ...
"It was also good to do it with someone else as the last CD was a fairly solitary process."
Finn says Barnes is a good foil for his introspection; she is "diplomatic", yet gives him the confidence to hurry up and finish songs he otherwise might have abandoned.
"When you're doing something on your own you might think, `that's a bit dorky; that sounds stupid' but, actually, it might be the most direct, hooky thing you've done, which is why you might shy away from it.
"In a way, it's about not trying to treat music so personally. When you work with someone else you don't feel like people are going to analyse you so much. You get a bit more leeway."
Finn and Barnes have known each other since childhood.
Having moved from Melbourne to West London in 2005, initially sharing an East London flat with fellow Kiwi musician James Milne, Finn offered Barnes his room to sub-let while he visited New Zealand.
On Finn's return, Barnes was singing with Milne's band, Lawrence of Arabia. Finn poached her.
"Eventually, when I was going to be touring the album, I asked her to do a few shows ... I couldn't get rid of her."
A glance at Finn's MySpace page reveals the busy schedule is not about to abate.
Following the forthcoming New Zealand tour, he and Barnes head to Australia next month, then to the United States where support slots for Wilco await.
From there, they'll cross the Atlantic for a show in London, return to the US and Canada for most of October then pack their bags for Australia and New Zealand, where they will complete a seven-show support for Pearl Jam in November.
Phew.
"It has been a pretty spectacular year. And that is the pay-off," Finn says, in reference to such highlights as playing the famous Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and pushing to the front of the crowd to see Neil Young in Barcelona.
"Last year we had a lot of amazing things as well, but it was non-stop, more gruelling. I think we look a bit healthier this year.
"I think a lot of people don't realise this about touring, but you don't really get any time to explore anywhere. You are in and out. We've planned it a bit smarter this year. I guess that has become my goal now," Finn says, adding he enjoys everything in moderation - including moderation.
"You can't go for it all the time. EJ and I definitely started out that way. We give it a good go, but after a few months you realise you're not going to survive if you go too crazy.
"It's been harder than I think I could have imagined. Touring America, those long drives ... I'd had a taste of it in Australia, but there is something about being that much further away from home and it being so relentless. It's a different life, that's for sure."
Finn says he's starting to see some tangible results of all that roadwork.
He's now playing to audiences around the world.
It gives him heart, makes him feel like he wants to return.
"Every time more people come. It's really exciting."
Signed to Liberation Music (for Australia and New Zealand) and with Transgressive Records in the United Kingdom and Yep Roc Records in the United States, Finn has also witnessed critical success.
The release of I'll Be Lightning two years ago earned him five nominations in the 2008 New Zealand Music Awards: best album, best rock album, best single, best video and best male solo artist.
Finn won the latter, that category having been topped by his uncle Tim the previous year.
He has also been named in the final five for the APRA Silver Scroll Award in 2007 and 2008, for Second Chance and Gather To The Chapel.
I'll Be Lightning has sold more than 10,000 copies in New Zealand and sat on the New Zealand album charts for 10 successive weeks on its release in July 2007, peaking at No. 7.
The album also debuted at No. 13 in the United States, on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart.
He has been heralded in the United States edition of Rolling Stone's "10 Artists To Watch in 2008" list; Second Chance was voted the sixth-best song out of 100 by the Australian edition of Rolling Stone; Boston's Globe newspaper named him in its "8 To Watch in 08" spread; and E! Online included him in its "Stars To Watch in 2008".
Oh, there was also an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman in March last year.
"It has definitely made me realise, that if you put in the right amount of work . . . and there is the right amount of luck involved as well," Finn reflects.
"Also, obviously, you got to be at least likeable [but] what we don't realise down here is the perseverance you've got to have. If your heart is not in it ... you've just to keep on doing it.
"I was fairly driven to do this from a young age," Finn says, recalling a time when, as a child, he'd be on tour as part of Crowded House's extended family.
"But what I experience is very different," he says.
"My memory of growing up with Crowded House was they were already doing pretty well. I've got different goals and am doing things in a slightly different way. It's definitely been a lot more humbling experience ... But I don't think I'd want it any other way.
"I think Dad looks on and thinks, `oh God, I never had to do that'. It's good to earn a little bit of respect from your dad, you know."
Hear him
Liam Finn's EP, Champagne in Seashells, is released on Monday; double album The Sun Came Out, the second instalment of Neil Finn's 7 Worlds Collide project, is released on August 31.
> Liam Finn performs at Refuel, Dunedin, on Wednesday, August 26.
