I definitely feel like Measure could be their opus, though I like Tones of Town best from a sugary pop standpoint. In Context, The Closer at Hand, She Can Do What She Wants, etc. Great songs, great arrangements.
I definitely feel like Measure could be their opus, though I like Tones of Town best from a sugary pop standpoint. In Context, The Closer at Hand, She Can Do What She Wants, etc. Great songs, great arrangements.
They've made two video clips for this album, which you must see:
I think these are good apethizers for the whole album, though I also quite like the more silent tracks. It's by the way an extremely fun album to sing-along (or listening to while reading the lyrics, the best way I think to fully absorb an album).
I listened to Measure yesterday for the first time. It's a little daunting to take in all at once (20 songs in 72 minutes), but most if not all of it is quite good! It will take some time to absorb and one listen isn't adequate for choosing favorite tracks, but this is one of the tunes I liked immediately:
Yeah, that first track is really good! They've got so many influences going on. But I'd say that's true of many bands... and it's how they utilize those influences that determines how unique their sound is, or isn't. In Field Music's case, I think they combined a lot of ingredients to come up with a pretty different gumbo. And it's quite tasty! Also, I think that what they decided NOT to do contributes to their originality. It really is prog in a lot of ways, but there's a lot of aspects that we associate with prog that they don't partake of: their songs are short and there's no real instrumental virtuoso showcases (which is not to say these guys aren't adept as instrumentalists). For me, this is one of the freshest, most interesting bands I've discovered on PE; no small feat!
This hadn't been on my radar at all but it seems there is a new Field Music album out this week!
http://www.field-music.co.uk
UK and US tour dates on that page too.
Commontime is another winner!!!
The Prog Corner
Got an email about this a few days ago. Had no idea they were making a new album!
This is great news. I love these guys.
Let's hope it's as good as The Week That Was
it has some good songs on it, but unfortunately, I'm not sure this band will ever make a classic. Their albums always seem to have more quantity than quality. They do come up with some stuff to go back to, but their albums are never short.
A bit like some of the Elephant 6 bands, or Crippled Black Phoenix among some others. Even Cloud Cult were guilty of that a few times, although they seem to have refined their album compositions to the point I don't skip tracks on their records.
But Field Music, I often get the sense they could have thrown out at least 1/3 of the songs on every one of their records, and they'd be a lot better.
Their albums are never short? Their discs have never gone over 40 minutes, unless you count their recent soundtrack Music For Drifters, which is 40:40. The two CDs from their double album were around 35 minutes each; Plumb was 35 minutes; Tones Of Town was 31; and their self-titled debut was 37 minutes long.
I'm just a bit confused as to what you would consider being a more acceptable running time for their albums.
Solid band. Looking forward to their upcoming album; sometime next week, I believe.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
I heard a track from the new one on 6 Music, it sounded more "dance / pop" than previously, but pretty enjoyable, so I will be looking for the album. I think they said on the radio that they will be doing some in-store signings and will be at Rough Trade East in London, so may pop down to pick up my copy in person.
Got "Commontime" two days ago, burned it on a disc and managed even to have a quick listen in the car! Sounded great. Reminded me of Daryl Hall and Rundgren at times and one Peter Brewis sung track could have been on "The Week That Was" album. It has a funky feel on many songs but Field Music has always been a danceable band haven't they? Excellent musicianship and that's why a minor complaint: they should include credits for themselves too. Which one played drums and bass on which song 'cause in that rhythm section department both are killers.
When I manage to find the first album on vinyl then my collection is complete.
Haven't been able to get a physical copy yet (Amazon has been out of stock it seems), but I have been listening to it on Spotify in the meantime and enjoying it quite a lot. On the whole, I think I like it better than Plumb.
Also, I think I managed to track down a copy of the album on orange vinyl, since the green ones were all sold out. We'll see...
My orange vinyl edition of Commontime finally arrived. After some time to digest this album in whole, I think it may be my favorite by them. There are some great tunes on this disc.
There's a new album, "Open Here". Just came across a review in the Guardian.
I haven't read that Guardian review yet (but I will). I hope it's glowing because "Open Here" is really effin' good.
Update: I just read the Guardian review and it's spot on. This is a band and an album worthy of wider recognition.
Last edited by FrippWire; 02-09-2018 at 11:28 AM.
Bookmarks