{{for|the Tkay Maidza song|Tkay}} {{Infobox album | name = Always Been | type = studio | artist = Craig Finn | cover = Always Been by Craig Finn.webp | released = {{start date|2025|4|4}} | studio = Boulevard Recording, Hollywood One Cue, Burbank | length = 44:12 | label = Tamarac Recordings, Thirty Tigers | producer = Adam Granduciel | prev_title = A Legacy of Rentals | prev_year = 2022 | misc = {{Singles | type = studio | single1 = People of Substance | single1date = January 24, 2025 | single2 = Bethany | single2date = February 28, 2025 }} }}
'''''Always Been''''' is the sixth solo album by the American musician and the Hold Steady member Craig Finn, released on Tamarac Recordings and Thirty Tigers on April 4, 2025.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Sacher |first=Andrew |title=Notable Releases of the Week (4/4) |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/scowl-florist-jane-remover-craig-finn-record-setter-florida-man-panchiko-ursula-momma-reviews/ |access-date=2026-01-30 |website=BrooklynVegan |language=en-US}}</ref> The album features the members of the War on Drugs backing Finn.<ref name=":0" />
== Release and reception == {{Music ratings | rev1 = ''Mojo'' | rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Mojo">{{Cite magazine |last1=Perry |first1=Andrew |date=May 2025 |title=Craig Finn – "Always Been" |url=https://archive.org/details/mojo-may-2025/page/87/mode/1up |magazine=Mojo}}</ref> | rev2 = ''MusicOMH'' | rev2score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=Craig Finn - Always Been {{!}} Album Reviews|url=https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/craig-finn-always-been|website=musicOMH|date=2025-04-04|access-date=2026-01-30|language=en-GB|first=John|last=Murphy}}</ref> | rev3 = ''New Noise Magazine'' | rev3score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=Album Review: Craig Finn - Always Been|url=https://newnoisemagazine.com/reviews/album-review-craig-finn-always-been/|website=New Noise Magazine|access-date=2026-01-30|language=en-US|date=April 4, 2025|last=Porter|first=John}}</ref> | rev4 = ''PopMatters'' | rev4score = 6/10<ref>{{Cite web|title=Craig Finn's Narrative Songwriting Doesn't Achieve Liftoff » PopMatters|url=https://www.popmatters.com/craig-finn-always-been|website=www.popmatters.com|date=2025-03-31|access-date=2026-01-30|language=en-US|first=Jeremy|last=Levine}}</ref> | rev5 = ''Record Collector'' | rev5score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{Cite magazine|last1=Harley|first1=Kevin|title=Craig Finn: Always Been|magazine=Record Collector|url=http://archive.org/details/record-collector-may-2025_202504|date=2025-04-18}}</ref> | rev6 = ''Spectrum Culture'' | rev6score = 78/100%<ref>{{Cite web|title=Craig Finn: Always Been|url=https://spectrumculture.com/2025/04/14/craig-finn-always-been-review/|website=Spectrum Culture|date=2025-04-15|access-date=2026-01-30|language=en-US|first=Ben|last=Hohenstatt}}</ref> }} Writing for Mojo Magazine, Andrew Perry states that it "charts the fall and redemption of a clergyman lacking in faith, but such is the novelistic depth of Finn's fiction that there’s ample room for familiar blue-collar tropes (fiscal strife, domestic tension, drinking, upping sticks to start over), plus lashings of trademark Catholic guilt."<ref name="Mojo"/> In a Paste Magazine review, Hayden Merrick wrote that the album "presents Finn’s most cohesive overarching story. Usually working with capsule standalone vignettes that connect thematically but not directly, he instead constructs an extended epic centered on an ex-reverend", noting that "What’s unique about Clayton compared to other Craig Finn-penned protagonists is that his protracted journey of self-improvement necessitates a rejection of the road", he concludes by saying that "Craig Finn gives us more hope than ever within Always Been's pages, but that hope only arrives after tragedy."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Craig Finn Ties it All Together on Always Been|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/craig-finn/craig-finn-ties-it-all-together-on-always-been|website=Paste Magazine|access-date=2026-01-30|language=en-US|first=Hayden|last=Merrick|date=April 3, 2025}}</ref>
== Track listing == {{Track listing | total_length = 44:12 | title1 = Bethany | length1 = 5:49 | title2 = People of Substance | length2 = 2:59 | title3 = Crumbs | length3 = 3:43 | title4 = Luke & Leanna | length4 = 3:30 | title5 = The Man I've Always Been | length5 = 4:07 | title6 = Fletcher's | length6 = 5:39 | title7 = A Man Needs a Vacation | length7 = 4:49 | title8 = I Walk with a Cane | length8 = 4:36 | title9 = Clayton | length9 = 3:55 | title10 = Postcards | length10 = 8:05 }}
== Charts == {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+Weekly chart performance for ''Always Been'' |- ! scope="col"| Chart (2025) ! scope="col"| Peak<br />position |- {{Album chart|Scotland|38|date=20250411|rowheader=true|access-date=January 30, 2026}} |- {{Album chart|UKAmericana|12|date=20250411|rowheader=true|access-date=January 30, 2026}} |- {{Album chart|BillboardCurrentAlbums|47|artist=Craig Finn|rowheader=true|access-date=January 30, 2026}} |}
== References == <references /> {{Craig Finn}} Category:2025 albums Category:Craig Finn albums Category:Thirty Tigers albums Category:Albums produced by Adam Granduciel