It must suck to be Paul McCartney these days. Ex-wife Heather Mills legs it (pun well intended), leaving him with some shoddy soft-porn shots and a legal bill that will make many Beatles fans wondering how exactly will he sleep at night?

Musically, his best effort in years was a Rock N Roll covers album (been there, contractually obligated that) and not even that can save him from the embarrassment that a pair of Kiwi Brothers have been consistently beating him at his own game for decades now.

The elder of the two Finns, Brian Timothy, is currently enjoying a commercial renaissance in the afterglow of a well received joint with younger brother Neil and the nostalgic yet successful Split Enz reunion tour.

Here on the instantly likeable Imaginary Kingdom, Tim ditches the rockier overtones of 2002s Feeding The Gods for a more lush, piano driven sound. By doing so, it allows Finn to openly display his great songwriting abilities and a voice that seems to get better as he steers gracefully through middle age.

Thematically, the songs on Imaginary Kingdom are ones of dreaming and wonder like on the ethereal 'Astounding Moon' and 'Unsinkable'. They hark back to the thoughts of a creative adolescent painting a vivid landscape in his mind and now being able to turn it into music. It seems time writing music for Children's Films ('Winter Light' from The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe is included here) has rubbed off on Tim.

Opening single, the vaudevillian 'Couldn't Be Done', continues Tim's knack for the slightly off-kilter pop song that has been perfecting since the days of Split Enz. Though a ton of fun in under three minutes, it isn't a true indication of the majority of the album.

For once more Tim delves into a project having to face the passing of a loved one. This time it is Paul Hester who (directly or indirectly) figures on a few tracks. 'Salt To The Sea' and 'Dead Flowers' deal with loss in their own way. 'Dead Flowers' in particular is such a moving piece: "I hope you found a place where dreams get built, only you know what it cost and what it was all for."

Despite this, Imaginary Kingdom is an album of love and warmth. One that reveals something more every time you listen to it and you will be listening to this over and over again. Finn hasn't sounded this comfortable in over a decade.