Field Music – “Field Music (Measure)”
Memphis Industries
– out Feb. 16
4 / 5

Since the dawn of time have musicians attempted the double album: Led Zeppelin, Electric Light Orchestra, Donna Summer, The Flaming Lips. In many cases, there simply isn’t enough interesting material to flesh out the more or less 80 minute requirement to hit that magical mark. Now enter Field Music: the Sunderland, England trio’s attempt is no “Blonde on Blonde,” nor is it a “Use Your Illusion.” Thankfully, it hits a strong classic rock vibe, with a Queen-ish tinge to some of the harmonies, while some guitar licks (the title track “Measure”) could have come from an acoustic Doobie Brothers album. That said, there is good stuff here; “The Rest is Noise” smacks a bit of prime ELO in the vocals, and that title track again is gorgeously executed. The album as a whole is varied and diverse, and in our scrupulous scrub for fluff material, we’ve come up a bit shy. To be sure, this is strong like an ox for a double album, but it’s also got to be lithe like a tiger (or maybe a liger, for that matter), of which it comes shy. A lot of varied, good material, but lacking the je ne sais quoi that keeps it in your player for the next three months. Still, recommended.

Listen to “Measure”: www.myspace.com/453173424

No Comments

  1. Sounds pretty good to me, and I'll be giving this a go on Spotify soon.

    Talking of double albums, apart from The White Album which was spot-on, from my era of music interest/collecting, I thought Smashing Pumpkins' "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" worked!

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