Record Review: Field Music

Field Music – Tones Of Town, (Memphis Industries.2007)



Field Music craft songs with meticulous arrangements. The melodies are simple, slightly spacious, and allow silence. Every element of song has a place and purpose. When the choice is made to fill space, there are weird electronic noises, variety of percussive instruments, stripped bare string arrangements, tinkling piano riffs, bizarre human beat-boxing, lyrical/vocal/musical repetition, serendipitous vocals, and peculiar harmonies. The record is a juxtaposition of melodic minimalism and sonic richness.

“Give It, Lose It, Take It”, the lead single and track, has plenty of energy here. The album art offers a glimpse as the record opens with the noisy bustle of a cafeteria, which quietly resigns to a tinkling keyboard line, which slowly builds only to be shoved by a big one-two of drums and guitar. “All that you have is all that you need to be”. The change at the 2:30 mark is artful and a bit proggy. A pastoral Kinks-ee-ness characterizes “Tones Of Town”, then a wacky cacophony of rattling and clanging instruments bring in a herky jerked post-punk fit. The last twenty seconds are just odd, but cool. “A House Is Not A Home” incorporates a weepy-country guitar riff, bendy line string arrangement, minimalist piano lines, and crazy changes (even within a single riff) to achieve a nervous weirdness.

There is a six track stretch, from “Working To Work” through “She Can Do What She Wants”, that is incredibly seamless – each song perfectly fits next to each other. 6 – “Working” is spare and dynamic, reflecting the mundane and the struggle of modern work life. 7 – “In Context” uses jangle guitar riffs (ala early R.E.M.) and vocal dynamics to draw the listener close. 8 – “A Gap Has Appeared” has an odd extended intro mildly orchestrated with a jittery piano that is interrupted by a steady piano, verse, semi-explosion of drums, handclaps, strings, and noise. The juxtaposition of giant cymbal crashes, a kind string arrangement, synths in the right channel, and big hook. The song flows right into - - - > 9 – “Closer At Hand” has a big hook that dances around with a gorgeous piano performance; supreme inertia and rotation. 10 – “Place Yourself” is relaxed; the laid back melody basks in the warmth of a lazy Beach Boys rhythm with subtle squalls of shimmering ambient noise, the pause before … 11 – “She Can Do What She Wants”, the peak of this six-song sequencing crescendo. I am talking Motown and angular riffing and falsetto vocals and nervous, nerv-, nerv-,-ous, nervous, ner-, nervous-, nervousness … hook rich and toe-tapping indie pop. The record ends with “Outro”, a teeny electronic skitter psychedelic soundscape swirls into oblivion.

Score: 77.66
File Under: Minimalist.Post.Orch.Punk.Pop

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