Album Review: Tones Of Town by Field Music

Last year's Write Your History traced the rainbow of trial and error that Field Music followed before they discovered gold with their eponymous debut. This, their second album proper, reveals there's a wealth of imagination left to mine. Almost a reposte to the Kinks' Village Green Preservation Society, beneath the warm, nostalgic melodies - the country-rock of A House Is Not a Home, the vaudevillesque Place Yourself - lies a damning portrait of modern society.

Full Review >>

There's no hint of a sophomore slump on Field Music's second record, Tones of Town. Maybe the record is less of a thrill because the initial surprise of discovering a new band as melodically rich, inventive and effortlessly hooky as they are has worn off. Now you can be surprised they not only didn't blow it completely, but they pulled off the rare feat of making a more interesting and satisfying follow-up to a classic debut.

Full Review >>

Ever wonder what would happen if the Futureheads' post-punk infectiousness was abducted by the carnivalesque mindfuck of Yes? The answer is Field Music, Sunderland, England's premier(e) dance-prog trio. While prog-rockers lean toward extended noodling, Field Music, with the exception of opening Roundabout "Give It Lose It Take It," sticks to the three-minute mark on its sophomore LP, integrating playful storytelling, capricious harmonies, and a little J. T.

Full Review >>

Tones of Town is the second album from Sunderland, England’s Field Music. Their self-titled debut offered up the kind of virtuosic but bland rock beloved of composition majors. Like Ben Folds and The Decemberists, the majority of Field Music was thoughtful without being provoking. Tones of Town, released on Memphis Industries, features music in a similar vein with a few unexpected flights of inspired composition that take this album beyond the merely derivative.

Full Review >>