Photo by Andy Martin
Field Music has long stood a step or two away from typical, and that’s to the group’s credit. Brothers Peter and David Brewis started the band in Sunderland, UK over a decade ago. Their hometown is a long way from London’s media and cultural vortex, and that also helps. Field Music’s albums are divorced from any sort of scene or sound, combining bits of pop into a sonic jigsaw puzzle.
And the Brewis Brothers can be puzzling, cramming so many ideas into three minutes that it’ll make your head spin. But Commontime, the band’s sixth, is sanded-down and gleaming. The list of influences is typically brainy–Roxy Music, Bowie, Joe Jackson, Steely Dan–yet Field Music balances out the art with funk-like grooves and hooks galore. They’re managing expectations on album standout “Disappointed,” the chorus not-too-subtly stating that their band is never going to be top of the charts. But if you value craftsmanship with a sense of humor, Field Music may be your new favorite band. Download “Disappointed” below.
–Art Levy
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