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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A staggeringly rewarding, ambitious work, 17 Feb 2010
This review is from: Field Music (Measure) (Audio CD)
I've bought a few new albums in the last couple of weeks - Vampire Weekend, Yeasayer, Hot Chip - all excellent in different ways. Then this arrived 3 days ago. I haven't listened to any of the others since. I just cannot stop playing it, and each time I find a different response to it. I'm a BIG fan of the Brewis brothers and thought that the The Week That Was and School of Language albums were underrated gems. But initially, I wondered if this new Field Music outing was too dense at first, too musically complex and clever - hell, maybe even a bit too PROG. It isn't. It's got amazing songs by the bucketload, wonderful hooks and smart, brilliant songwriting. But it takes a few listens to get under your skin - and then you just keep finding more and more to love in it.
I don't think I've ever heard such an odd range of influences moulded into something that works so well. Of course there's the angular, XTC post punk that's always there in their work, but I can also hear Traffic, Fleetwood Mac, Prefab Sprout, Kate Bush, White Album era Beatles, Led Zepellin, Fairport Convention, Josef F/Orange Juice and (whisper it), yes even Peter Gabriel era Genesis too. That's not to suggest that this is a derivative album. It's absolutely its own beast, but it's made from by two guys who have a deep love and understanding of the last 40 years of rock music.
Field Music, alas, will always be an acquired taste, and I suspect this album will no more be their breakout than any other of their catalogue, but make no mistake. This their finest work, made by a band at the peak of their powers. Rarer still, it's a double album that you never feel drags and that earns every minute of its playing time. If anything, the second disc is even stronger than the first.
They've clearly put their heart and soul into this. The least you could do is lend them your ears for an hour or so.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
There's one brilliant album here, not two..., 8 April 2010
This review is from: Field Music (Measure) (Audio CD)
The title really sums up this review: Field Music should have been much more determined with the scalpel, with which they could have formed a classic album. Instead, this double sounds like the outtakes from a number of late sixties bands.
I'm thinking of The Jimi Hendrix Experience (the vocal style is reminiscent of Little Miss Strange from Electric Ladyland), Cream, later Beatles... add to that the string sound from Hounds of Love (yes, it does sound a little anachronistic) and some post-rock noodling and you get... too much of a good thing. Or, to be honest, not enough of a good thing for two CDs. I'm going to rip this album and make a perfect single disc which would get four or five stars. But listening to the whole of this is just a bit too meandering for me.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Field Music Makem & Takem, 1 May 2010
This review is from: Field Music (Measure) (Audio CD)
Two CDs of varied, quirky, (mostly) tuneful twists on the history of pop. Beautifully produced and played, this should be the glittering ticket to the Premier League for Field Music
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