Field Music

Haha, well a bit. That's certainly the obvious and lazy critical comparison, but they're a lot more interesting than that would lead you to believe. There's bits of jerky post-punk but also dainty psych-pop, gorgeous harmonizing and stylish orchestration. 'Shorter Shorter' may be the one to download.

That's what they said about Dogs Die In Hot Cars and I hated them...

I gather that Field Music may be something better than a lot of these tedious 'post punk' bandwagoners; but might it be a case of promise rather than delivery? I'm certainly more keen on buying the Shortwave Set album, for instance, than theirs. No surprises I guess, considering how much people have been raving about that.

You can hear a couple of streaming Field Music things here:
http://www.memphis-industries.com/field_music.html

It's so hard to find interesting, tuneful, quirky, pop these days.

Ain't that the sad truth.

Harumph.

I've told quite a few people about them, but it's hard to find the album. And the couple of people I was sure would like it didn't seem enthused when I played it for them.

Maybe it's TOO quirky for most. I don't know.

Nathan Michel's "The Beast" is like that too. Brilliant, complex sculpted pop filtered through DSP. Absolutely astounding, but a bit offputting in its' execution. The people that gravitate towards this form of ornate pop aren't sure what to think about the Max treatments on the analog instrumentation.

here's some official tracks via the label site ..

http://static.memphis-industries.com/sittightbyfieldmusic.mp3

http://static.memphis-industries.com/giveitloseittakeitbyfieldmusic.mp3

"xtc vs yes" - good call.

excellent video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBqx9Tpmj-U

Too bad they broke up, but The Week That Was hits the spot just as well.

Yeah, not bad, but needs a few more listenings I think.
School of Language is bit boring, though.

i wasn't too excited by the TWTW album.. zeus probably otm about needing more listenings

woah

http://pitchfork.com/news/36878-field-music-return-with-double-album/

Awesome. Cool cover.

Double album means the whole thing might be longer than an hour?

that new song is pretty cool. i don't listen to them that much, but they seem like a really smart band.

that is a good cover. i was never terribly impressed by either of the offshoots, they seem to do a much better job when pooling their creative resources

i prefer the week that was to field music. they do genesis way better than elbow do. i'd be more excited about a double concept album by them

Measure comes out February 16. So glad, I thought they broke up for good!

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/11584-measure/

nice song

"it's their White Album"...

i was never terribly impressed by either of the offshoots

I really, really liked The Week That Was. As usual, though, it was too brief. I hope there's a second one someday.

first impression of the new record:

pros: interesting xtc/mccartney meets some math rock sound, catchy melodies.
cons: too long,probably not constantly successful.

too long

this is a big shame. one of the strengths of the first record is how compact and un-noodly it is

they tried to be a little Deerhoof-y-experimental here, sometimes it works. sometimes not.

but,again, it's only my 1st impression.

Absolutely floored by the new one. Combined with their two other (flawless) albums and wonderful solo projects, I'm solidly convinced that Field Music is one of the most significant bands of the past ten years. They're on par with SFA for quality/complexity/catchiness.

There's a fussy math-rock quality about them that kind of irritates me, but not aws much as it irritates people whom I try to turn on to them.

It is a lonely and not entirely enthusiastic fandom.

Very anxious to hear this!

i've gotten a couple of friends kinda into them via 'in context' but yeah

i was pretty much entirely unimpressed by the week that was / school of language so i'm struggling to get the enthusiasm together to check out the new one

I think it's definitely better than the side projects, by a long shot (although the last song on The Week That Was album was great).

"Scrath the Surface" is the song.

^yeah, that's a good track

I adored their first album, but everything since, including the new one, I've liked less and less.

FWIW, here's my ranking of their output thus far:

Measure
Field Music
The Week That Was
School of Language
Tones of Town

Saw these guys (and friends) perform a tribute to Fleetwood Mac last night! Mind-blowingly spot on, and with a tiny amount of their sound creeping through. They can do no wrong!

I've yet to hear the new one and I never did hear the School of Language album, but I find it really weird to see Tones of Town way down at the bottom of your list, considering that is what got me into the band in the first place.

I think they played recently at Beat Kitchen. I'll catch them next time when I an buy the new album from them. So looking forward to it!

Tones of Town >>> s/t

The new one is massive and dense, so it'll take a while to assess its overall worth. "You and I" is really nice though.

I find it really weird to see Tones of Town way down at the bottom of your list, considering that is what got me into the band in the first place.

To clarify - I love *everything* these guys have done. I just love Tones of Town the least. But I fucking love it. :)

I love the sound and production of Tones way more than the self-titled, but I enjoy the songwriting a bit more. The new one seems to marry the complex poppy writing of the self-titled with the knotty dissonance (and amazing production) of Tones to incredible effect.

I think they played recently at Beat Kitchen.

Nah, they cancelled their U.S. dates because of illness. I was kinda bummed about it -- the band I used to be in was opening the show, even.

So I really like the new one, I think. I mean, individually a lot of these songs sound great... but its just way too much to digest. I really loved how tight and concise Tones of Town was. I don't feel like the sprawling nature of Measure plays to their strengths. Still lots of good tunes though.

Yeah, it's not a knock against any of the material really but there's an amazing 12- or 13-track record lurking in there. Still one of my faves of the new year.

I think this is one of the coolest albums I've heard in a while. Love it.

An album that takes quite a few listens to fully wrap your head around (at least for me). But it's still great. I have a feeling that there won't be quite as many b-sides as there were with previous albums. This band was always one of those that had some amazing b-sides on their singles releases (e.g., 'Can You See Anything,' 'The Breakfast Song' etc.).

I found it to be pretty accessible actually.

The sequencing of the songs is superb.

Love the wacky reinterpretation of "Don't Pass Me By".

been redecorating the bathroom with this on repeat all week and i absolutely adore it - critics need to get behind this in style and hook the brewis brothers up with some mercury type hype - for a double lp i don't think it lags a great deal and its so varied and sumptuous that it just flies by with the melodies sort of buzzing round the house even after the record has stopped ... love it

Yeah, the critics have been missing the boat on these guys since day one. Real shame since these dudes spin circles around their counterparts. It's an unjust world, I tell ya.

I mean for fuck's sake:

Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me [Started by kshighway (ksh) in January 2010, last updated 1 minute ago by Number None] 584 new answers
Field Music [Started by Tom May (Tom May) in August 2005, last updated 2 minutes ago by Darin] 5 new answers

Not really a good comparison, I mean 87% of those posts aren't about Miss Newsom or her new album.

Well, female Tiny Tim was the first artist thread I saw. Substitute whoever.

measure is really really great.

oh wow

...and the brothers solo record, School Of Language (or whatever it's called) while yer at it.

next few days = massive listenathon pre-determining what I will be ranking my best of '10

this has top 10 potential

Field Music liveblog Santafest '10

have a putative list of stuff that might make my list, and am wondering what to add to it - suggestions?

I'd like to see a list without any outside influence. :)

nono I mean suggestions for me to listen to and then JUDGE

i.e. your suggestions probably won't make it but you might as well try :D

n.b. my #1 album of the year changed hands as recently as a week ago

yeah, fucking brilliant, is Measure

i should probably listen to it huh

hahaha you mean you nommed it for the 2010 poll on principle

hero

Measure is indeed awesome. I still don't know why it was so widely ignored. Pitchfork must own stock in 4AD or something.

this is soaring up my year-end list by the day

phenomenal achievement

probably not boorish enough for most ilxors' tastes :P

New album "Plumb" out in February. Excitement! New track here - http://www.field-music.co.uk/

I've never really been too keen on this band, aside from a couple of tracks. 'Give It, Lose It, Take It' for example. But for the most part I just find them a bit soggy. I'm not convinced they're in any way great songwriters, either.

It's a bit of a shame, because on paper they're one of those bands I really should like, but just don't. I own both their first two albums and I just never really have the urge to play them!

http://www.npr.org/2012/02/05/146086375/first-listen-field-music-plumb

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/feb/19/field-music-brewis-plumb-interview?newsfeed=true

Interesting article.

New LP is very good as well

Plumb is fucking awesome.

I got the debut but wasn't fussed. Missed everything since until now. Guess I should get Measure?

IMO, Tones of Town towers over both the debut and Measure.

i like Measure best but they're all pretty good

actually i like the The Week That Was record best if that counts

i kind of like these guys but everything they do sounds exactly the same to me. i probably don't need to keep getting their new albums.

I dunno I thought Measure was pretty great

Oh man, I was excited to listen to Plumb -- didn't realize this thread had been revived two weeks ago.

and I think it's their least samey sounding album fwiw (xp re: measure)

Nm, found it on Luisterpaal.

Ah, Field Music. I thought the first album had its moments, especially 'It's Not The Only Way To Feel Happy', 'If Only The Moon Were Up', 'You're So Pretty...', 'Pieces' and 'You Can Decide', but for me Tones Of Town is the one they haven't beaten yet, to my mind. It's so small and compact you can listen to it in one sitting and it just breezes by, however the attention to detail in it is quite something. I like how they record/produce a lot of this stuff themselves, although you can definitely tell that their tracks aren't really honed through live performances and have been painstakingly crafted from bottom to top in the studio. They're truly a band that rely on themselves almost completely, which I like.

I wasn't too taken with Measure on the whole... I thought it had some great ideas, but I don't think that they really had it in them to make a record of that length at this stage in their career. I've been reliably informed that Plumb has more in common with Tones Of Town than any of their other records, so even though I haven't heard it yet I'm very much looking forward to it.

One of the best things for me about Field Music being a local band is that I pass by the cafe from the front cover of Tones Of Town quite regularly.

measure def my least favourite though it's not crap by any means. the newie is v enjoyable but for me feels like it's missing what made the first two albums so easy to love

Bought TOT and ordered Measure.

Yeah I agree with the TOT > all else sentiment, that thing should have been way more acclaimed - it's pretty much perfect. I've listened to the new one a few timesbut it's yet to fully sink in. Very endearing interviewees, it would seem.

and yeah School of Language / The Week That Was records are essential listens if you're into the FM stuff.

Never did hear the School of Language record, but The Week That Was was pretty good.

Really love the new one, as of right now I'd probably rank them:
TOT > Plumb > S/T > Measure

Measure still strikes me as a standard Field Music record, only with every single track from the session thrown in, rather than the band cherrypicking the best material.

Yeah Measure has its moments, but its far too scattered and overlong. The beauty of TOT and the new one is how concise they are.

As Simon says, I'd definitely check out the School Of Language and The Week That Was records, although I think The Week That Was is probably more my cup of tea than School Of Language.

http://sickmouthy.com/2012/03/31/field-music-plumb/

Great write-up Nick. It's pretty much my own album of the year so far too, and you do it justice. I've been driven away from the album format by my listening habits of late so it's wonderful to find a band that still believes in the medium enough to create something that can ONLY be heard in one glorious sweep. While not as overwhelming as Measure (which is probably still my favourite, just about), this is more concise, intricate and arguably sublime.

One of the most important British bands of the day. I wish they were more central to the indie discourse.

yeah nice job nick.

it took me a long time to get into this for some reason. i think the weird halting start over the first 3 tracks didn't help. but since it clicked i have liked it more and more with every listen, i think maybe even more than measure now. really amazing stuff. it's my current default listen when i haven't got anything particular in mind to put on.

interesting about the single choices, not surprising necessarily but not what i would've guessed. is this the picture seems like a more obvious single?

Huh this band is perplexing in a good way. Never heard of them. Checked the new album out...interesting, definitely hear the XTC influence, that was the first thing I thought of, like mid period XTC but more prog.....tbh though some of the prog moves are a little corny, or fusion....reminds me of Brand X

But this is cool I think it will grow on me...also appreciate how completely unfashionable it is, like they are completely on their own trip....can't imagine NME is exactly breaking down their door

@sickmouthy Nick, thanks! That's so kind. You've pretty much nailed how I hope people will hear the record. It means a lot so again thanks!
2 hours ago

That was from @fieldmusicmusic, which is the younger brother: very nice to know they appreciated my appreciation!

Liked that review too!

Autumn tour dates on the website.

http://www.field-music.co.uk/

Will try and make it to Bath.

Bath tickets bought.

http://devonrecordclub.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/field-music-plumb-round-27-nicks-choice/

I guess I'm kind of surprised you didn't fall for Tones of Town at the time.

I simply didn't hear it until a couple of months ago. They fell totally off my radar.

That's fair enough, I guess. This band have never seemed like the kind of band who would want to force themselves on anyone's radar. They're just kind of there, waiting for people to discover them.

I decided to give this a go but it's leaving me really cold. There are nice touches here and there but a lot of it is really laboured-sounding, like they've gone for this second-half-of-Abbey-Road vibe (which I'm not crazy about in the first place) but they're not good enough songwriters to pull it off.

Didn't get to see them in Bath last night because of our interminable house problems. Gutted. Listening to Measure as some kind of recompense. It's really very good. I just love the sound they make.

Still haven't got round to "Plumb" yet, though I loved "Measure". Should investigate their back catalogue too. I've heard good things about their covers album as well, I love the song choices.

plumb is very good, almost full-blown prog-pop, which might or might not reflect the selections on their recent covers collection, play. they're reminding me more and more of XTC at their best

Having loved everything prior, I'm finding myself at a loss being able to get into Plumb. I'm not hearing any hooks at all. Measure wasn't as hooky as what came before it either, but it was so (comparatively) muscular and riffy it made up for it.

Oh man, I love Plumb. Everything else is good, but this is next level. Amazing.

plumb is really strange in that it doesn't seem to have any appreciable hooks but when i came back to it after not listening for several months, i immediately remembered every song and how it went

Yeah, every twist of every song is burned right into my cerebellum somehow. I think the way it's arranged and mixed makes for a lot of sonic fills and details which work as hooks. They're oblique hooks, which is, I think, what's made it so eminently replay ale for me - I never, ever feel as if I've burnt out on it or got too familiar with it.

I just learned that Michael McKean is a Field Music fan. Who knew?

("In Context," from Tones of Town, is in the trailer for Christopher Guest's new HBO show, which features McKean.)

New School of Language album is excellent, huge improvement from the debut.

https://soundcloud.com/memphisindustries/field-music-the-noisy-days-are-over-single-version/s-mFgkR

New single. It's awesome. Brass! New album due early next year (Feb) and tour in March.

cool!

was relistening to Measure recently - it's soooo good

Commontime is a really interesting record - so much going on, but in a looser way than on the meticulously edited Plumb. Pretty easily their grooviest album, but with plenty of odd twists as well.

I like these guys groovy. Really looking forward to this based on "Noisy Days."

Really digging Disappointed.

really, really liking this

feels like they've recaptured the spirit of Measure

anyone seem them live? they're coming to town next month .

gf says "seriously very very good, so tight" but that was in 2010

here's the streeeeam http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/feb/01/listen-to-field-music-new-album-pre-prelease-commontime-exclusive-album-stream

I am looking forward to seeing them live in Exeter at last.

Haven't heard this yet, but Tones of Town is the one to beat, for me at least.

love their last few records, excited for this

not ashamed to say it was the Steely Dan reference in the pfork article that made me listen. that said, tones of town is terrific in ways I wasn't expecting

i don't think they sound like steely dan at all! have heard XTC comparisons too which are closer but still not quite on the nose

The opener of the new LP is Steely Dan-tastic, IMO.

listening to this now, and it seems more Steely Dan than XTC, and parts of it are Hall and Oates-ish. XTC aren't this laid back even when they play soft songs.

They were great opening for The Clientele in 2010. As polished as the records.

I hear some high llamas/ b Wilson stuff on tones of town and some 80s aor vibes on the new one.

They really don't seem to be recent recordings and I love that.

ok yeah 'disappointed' is great and i def hear the steely dan in it (also some bowie and hall&oates and phil collins like all their previous records)

their weirdo sense of melody/harmony has always been what sets them apart from their influences though. phrases and chord progressions resolve in unexpected ways or are left hanging, etc etc

I am going to try and leave work early to pick this up from the record emporium. Rock n roll.

This is pretty wonderful. The twists and turns of Plumb, which I know some people found a bit irritating, are shorn off, but the whole thing is much more elongated and groovey. There are the same number number of songs as Plumb, but the album's a good 20 minutes longer.

It definitely follows on from the last School Of Language LP, which was very much in thrall to Prince too.

Also their records just sound absolutely beautiful.

yeah this is a stunner

Looking forward to checking this out.

Q for Britishers -- about how popular would you say they are in the UK? I don't feel like many of my friends here in the US know them.

They're very much a cult act here. They're well known enough to a particular group of people, but they're definitely far from "man on the street" well-known.

I think a lot of rock fans who follow new music are at least aware of them. I saw them in magazines fairly often. I first became aware of them when they supported British Sea Power, they were very good and quite funny. Although I was surprised at how small the audience was at one gig.

I think they are really, really good, but I also wonder what the audience is for them. Here I would guess they would (or do) play best to the aging-hipster-to-boomer set, AAA radio (is that still a thing?), Paste magazine (see prior comment), NPR. But in the best way possible.

Agreed that people here in the US don't seem to be aware of them. They're playing what is pretty much my city's smallest proper venue in a couple weeks, and it probably won't even sell out. And tix are only 12 bucks!

But yeah, some hype from the likes of NPR would prob help these guys out. (As you said, in the best way possible!)

I don't remember how I found Tones of Town (I think it was a couple years after it came out), but I remember first thinking it was something from the mid to late 70s, and second thinking "Why has no one ever even mentioned this band's name to me before?"

Yeah, I def came upon them by accident, too. (Uh, to the extent that obsessive-compulsively looking up every band I hear about for the last 20 years is an accident.)

lol otm

I would guess they would (or do) play best to the aging-hipster-to-boomer set

Yeah, that more or less sums up the (small) crowd that showed up for them in DC last night. They were playing with a smaller band than usual; show had an appealing seat-of-the-pants quality. I dug it.

oh yeah they're playing NYC tomorrow, almost forgot, may try to get tix

playing tonight in philly. can't believe the show isn't sold out

Yeah, neither is NYC it seems. Small venue too. Guess whoever promotes them has not figured out how to do it properly. Want to go but I am old and a 9pm show with two openers definitely means a late start time.

there were maybe like 60 or 70 ppl at the show last night. they went on at 10:15.

anti-prog press has poisoned listeners to this type of stuff too

yeah sounding like genesis is not cool in 2016

or roxy music or XTC really, which is way too bad

Which is also super-weird, because my teenage kids and all their friends are really into Roxy Music. You could make a million dollars if you were a young Ferry soundalike right now, I'd-a thought.

The band isn't getting enough attention for this album, which is excellent, but they've never really been a big thing in the US even when they were kinda buzzy a decade ago.

Disappointed is so great and I finally figured out what song it reminds me of: Love at First Sight by XTC

I don't really hear the Roxy Music parallels

roxy music + gentle giant x XTC = fairly solid description imho. they've got the funk

great show! one brother had a huge grin on his face the whole time, playing drums or guitar

I think it's hard to sell a band in their age category to younger fans when the band isn't either pretending to be younger or one of those name-dropped "influential"/cult bands

Show at NYC was really good, love how they kept switching drums and guitar--banter was funny too

i was bummed they didn't do "a new town" in philly to give the bass player a little shine but man, what a show! no fucks to give, just song after great song

I think this band hits a nerve for me because they're roughly the same age as me and sound closer than any band to the band I've had in my head for the past few years.

Album is still so good.

Been loving But Not For You lately

I don't know much about this band but 'Disappointed (Ewan Pearson Extended Mix)' is such fun.

https://soundcloud.com/memphisindustries/field-music-disappointed-ewan-pearson-extended-mix/

i like the new record

My copy arrived this afternoon, now playing. Oh how I love this band.

Yeah, I consistently really enjoy these guys.

FWIW Time in Joy kind of sounds like Siberian Khartu

this is great. love these guys. last two songs on the album are next-level symphonic

I haven't heard it yet, but their last one ended up being my least favourite album of theirs.

I have only half heard this, and it seems incredibly good so far.

i have listened to this once and altho i try to give any album time, especially when the band in question has earned that with their prior output, i will note that i am contemplating staying at work overnight so i don't have to listen to this again on the commute home.

While I wouldn't go that far, I was similarly nonplussed

The Noisy Days Are Over and Disappointed was an awesome way to start an album but to rest of Commontime was drudgery and that seems to have spilt over into this

Measure still their best by miles obv

it's no week that was but what is?

I really dig it - too many gauzy dreamy numbers but the ones that are sharp are sharp. It reminds me of Wasp Star but with more charm.

Okay, so it turns out that Open Here is their best album yet. I tried to recall the last time a Field Music LP blew me away this much and I realised none of their prior work has, not even Tones of Town. Quite remarkable, since Commontime bored me.

Open Here > Tones of Town > Plumb
> Commontime > Field Music > Measure

such is the wonderful variety of ilx that I would pretty much reverse those arrows

Curious to hear why your prefer Open Here to Commontime, turrican

The first and last tracks on Open Here blow pretty much everything on Commontime out of the water, IMO.

Measure is overlong, riddled with filler and a slog, but there's a great record in there somewhere. One of 'em has to come last, though.

(I've since come around to a fair bit of Commontime - 'The Noisy Days are Over' and 'Trouble at the Lights' particularly)

First listen to Making a New World. I’m ... not sure ... about it. I think it feels shorter than it is, which is a good sign.

Haven't picked it up yet but probably will do once payday rolls around.

From a commission and all about the aftermath of the first world war, isn't it?

I do wonder why Field Music have faded so much. I think they maybe grew too obsessed with working on a single sound, and they've worked the life out of it

I'm sort of annoyed such a bunch of nitwits have taken the title from a Paul Nash masterpiece, which is a really beautiful haunted title as well as a painting - which I can't imagine their music matching the gravitas of tbh!

Might be the first time Field Music have been described as “such a bunch of nitwits.”

probably melt cunts as well!

they most likely are led-by-donkieys type feebs that became radicalised by threat of austerity finishing off 6 music!

https://www.brooklynvegan.com/field-music-have-a-side-hustle-as-a-doors-tribute-band-making-a-living-from-making-our-own-music-has-become-increasingly-difficult/

they've definitely got skill I think the bigger problem is nobody really seems all that interested in their music right now, I mean my local shop has four of their albums in the bargain bin (Tones of Town and the last three), I've thought about picking them up because on paper I like this band very much. idk I think in theory the idea of a XTC/Gentle Giant hybrid band is really great but I feel like they sorta took the wrong things from both bands

new one is intriguing so far though, love the Technodelic-style synths, still wish this stuff was like 50% catchier though

Yeah, I pretty much love their first three albums and then … there’s a song or 2 from each of the post-Plumb records that hits but on the whole it’s just fussy and boring. I only stopped buying each new album long after the diminishing returns set in, trying to convince myself there was something there for me.

I liked Plumb a lot and really liked the sound of one of the newer ones, I should catch up. Did anyone keep up with School Of Language and other solo stuff?

David B’s the Soft Struggles album from a couple of years ago was a very sweet piece of Canterbury scene chamber folk, but I found FM to be diminishing returns ever since the debut. Lovely fellas though.

I felt that they were hitting their stride with Measure and Plumb so I should get on with what came next