The Field Mice: Cl*ss*c Or D*d

that is indeed one of the all-time jams imo

i wonder how many people in the world would list "when morning comes to town" as their favorite song. 20,000? less? i wouldn't be a part of this group but i can definitely sympathize with their viewpoint. i love this sarah records stuff.

It might not be my favorite song but it's my favorite Field Mice-song with some margin, probably followed by Emma's House or "This Love is not Wrong. These are top, top tunes.

as someone with an almost pathological dislike of anything indie or twee, i always assumed the field mice would be the nadir of that genre. "emma's house" ticks almost every single box of things i dislike in music yet i have been unable to stop listening to it recently. "triangle" is great too. i'm almost afraid to listen to any more in case my entire belief system inplodes.

implodes.

Someone buy the Sarah catalog and reissue it already.

Are the LTM reissues from 10 years ago out of print?

love the field mice! i have two copies of that complete two cd thing. just in case!

quite a few sarah things have been popping up digitally in recent days, the orchids and blueboy singles among them

Wratton/the Field Mice are pretty special. I can totally conceive of a person liking them and still thinking indie was, otherwise, no damn good.

Finally bit the bullet and bought The Field Mice catalog on vinyl since I'm weary of them every reissuing them on vinyl (now would be the time since the documentary is out). I have an extra copy of Where'd You Learn To Kiss That Way up for grabs if anybody wants to trade. In search of Alaska or any of the singles from Northern Picture Library on vinyl.

Didn't see Gerald's response to my reissue cry 4 months ago, but yeah, bought the LTM reissues for Field Mice and NPL, but I want them on all vinyl. The Sarah Records story is pretty interesting and the original vinyl artifacts are cool to have.

Loving this Field Mice related record
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2YM217Bhf4

It is indeed a fine album. Probably my most played of 2020.

Huh, I don't know these guys. So they have some connection to Trembling Blue Stars?

https://www.discogs.com/artist/3798108-The-Luxembourg-Signal

bobby wratten stole the show on their second album. this might as well be a field mice song from the vaults:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUV_Ciq2nsI

("fall feeling")

Related, this is interesting:

https://tribunemag.co.uk/2022/01/twee-fashion-indie-music-industry-sarah-records

skimmed. nothing revelatory to me, but cool piece nonetheless.

thanks for sharing, btw. good stuff.

New Twilight Hour LP called 'Overwintering' coming soon

wonderful news! i deleted my instagram and that was my source for updates on them, so thank you for posting! definitely been on my wish list for some time.

i also posted it on the trembling blue stars thread, but here's bobby's ambient cassette-only thing (released under the liath name) from 2017: quiet actions.

this is the most head-over-heels-in-love first listen I've had for any band in a long time, what the fuck

did you start listening to them because of the mouse murder thread, as an act of solidarity

No results found for "the killing field mice".

"Emma's House" over and over

Also "White"

"the killing field mice" omg

someone I'm pals with on RYM made a list of essential tweepop and put their big 1998 compilation on it. The first half of Disc 1 is amazing

they are wonderful. so are trembling blue stars, I think some of the songwriting there hits new heights for him but there's something special about the field mice

LJ may I recommend the twee Coil stylings of "Humblebee" (IIRC not on that comp)?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVNWnn67X8c

Thanks, will try shortly!

I liked Disc 2 almost even more than Disc 1 in the end, there's some fantastic stuff buried deep within it. Always runs the risk of getting stuck in a sort of corny trance but there's so much lovely work throughout. The bassist is a hero

They are synonymous with twee in many circles, but there is so much more to them than that.

Absolutely. There's some serious (and highly varied) pastoral evocation going on here

holland street is a dazzling instrumental

i adore "missing the moon" but i've never really dug into them beyond that

“letting go” is really gorgeous and dreamy too, I don’t think it’s on the Shinkansen comp.

"Other Galaxies" is pretty epic by their standards, and only shows up on a Waaah! comp if I recall. They also recorded a version of Loop's "Burning Sky" for a Waaah! flexidisc. There could be an amazing collection of experimental stuff by The Field Mice in which the word "twee" dare not be spoken.

only field mice I own is For Keeps and it has such an inventive and surprising mix of styles, much more than I expected from their twee rep

I'm not super familiar with the Field Mice catalog but "Fabulous Friend" sounds like it came straight off of R.E.M.'s Reckoning, which is a very good thing in my book.

Too many people here need to explore more it seems

this song from a Peel Session is so good, v New Orderish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_27IUnBk1o

holland street is a dazzling instrumental

― brimstead, Monday, 18 December 2023 21:22 (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

this one absolutely leapt out at me yeah

Humblebee was lovely ty!

ditto Anoint

"Below The Stars" has a lovely Lazer Guided Melodies vibe. More of this sort of thing please!

Another obscure good one, originally given away on vinyl with Bob Stanley’s old Caff zine. Goes for a small fortune nowadays

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYsMIDKeMCI