THERE are musicians all over the world struggling to find a band to play with.

Once upon a time, there would be scores of adverts in newspapers, newsagents' windows or music magazines. Now, it is more likely they will use a website.

For Neil Finn, who is at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall tonight, finding a band to play on his latest album was easier still. He just asked sons Liam and Elroy.

"I have always wanted to do it," says Finn, who is no stranger to keeping things in the family. As a teenager, before Crowded House was a twinkle in his eye, he joined his brother Tim's band Split Enz. At the time, they were one of New Zealand's biggest ever bands.

"I would love to do work with them again, too, maybe more of a writing collaboration next time. My whole family is talented. I am very admiring of the songs Liam has written and the way he plays, and Elroy is developing as a good writer, plus he is a great drummer. It wasn't a hard sell for me."

Liam, 30, has released two solo albums, with a third on the way, while Elroy, 24, has played drums for his brother and is in various bands.

"We're not competitive," Finn says. "Well, not badly so. There is a little bit of winding each other up, but if someone in the family has written a song, it inspires me to go and write one.

"It's hard to differentiate between being inspired, being competitive, and thinking you know best. And there is a tendency among parents to do that.

"Eventually, you learn you don't know everything, and it worked out on the record. We are all still friends, all still enjoying each other's company. It can't have been that bad for them, can it?"

Listening to the resulting Dizzy Heights suggests he is right. It is an album that sounds very relaxed, although the man who wrote it is not sure whether to agree with that or not.

"I am loath to predict how people will perceive my music," he says. "There are moments of tension when making a record. If something sounds like the most natural thing in the world, then that is a success, but what goes into giving that impression is often far from it.

"Sometimes you feel like you don't have a creative bone in your body, but the next day it comes back to you."

Finn reckons his skill as a songwriter is in his perseverance, in willing his talent to come back when it has seemingly deserted him.

"It would be easy for me to say, 'No, I've written enough songs now', but I still find it mysterious and amazing, and I will endure a lot of struggles to write more songs."

Dizzy Heights is Finn's third solo album, the follow-up to 2002's One Nil, although there have been two Crowded House albums and a handful of other assorted releases in the meantime. Dizzy Heights is, however, one of the most unusual-sounding albums of his career.

As the founder of Crowded House, Finn became synonymous with perfectly honed, classic-sounding pop. His biggest hits include Fall At Your Feet, Weather With You, Don't Dream It's Over and It's Only Natural, songs that took Crowded House around the world many times and helped them sell 20 million albums.

Dizzy Heights might not be classed as a change in direction for Finn, but it is most definitely a detour. He puts much of that down to the producer he chose to work with, Dave Fridmann. As well as being a non-touring member of Mercury Rev since 1993, Fridmann has worked with countless artists, including Weezer, The Flaming Lips, MGMT, Tame Impala and The Cribs.

As well as working alone in his Auckland studio, Finn, his wife Sharon and their sons went to Fridmann's studio in New York for two three-week stints.

"There aren't many producers that do a very specific 'thing'," says Finn. "But Dave is one. I love the idea of being surprised in the studio at this stage of my career, and Dave can do that. He can transform things. He could have made this a very traditional singer-songwriter record and treated me in a conventional manner.

"These songs would work like that, and they might even be more commercial, but I liked his idea of pushing and prodding them."