Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 21/01/07
Label: Memphis Industries

Hard to believe now, but long ago - before Suede, Blur and Oasis shook up British guitar pop - ambition didn't seethe in the heart of every band. Those were the cosy days of indie, when noodling around on a guitar was its own reward and if anyone else liked it, that was a bonus. A time when the ultimate goal was to rewrite a Big Star b-side or reach the comforting obscurity of 32 on the singles chart.

Indie has long since taken to its bed unwell (did it ever leave?) but a largely online nostalgia industry still thrives, casting hopeful garlands at the likes of Bloc Party and Northern trio Field Music. Hence the rhapsodic reception to second album "Tones OF Town", which critics called "as perfect a pop album as you'll hear" or "a timeless masterpiece".

Well, anyone expecting "Revolver" or "Hunky Dory" will soon find their patience sorely tested, though those hoping for a modest collection of whimsical indie melodies, some Beatlesy orchestral flourishes and some cleverly off-kilter rhythms may find much to enjoy in these brief 11 songs. Things certainly start well, with the noise of café chatter and clatter rudely interrupted by a buoyant, scrappy guitar riff counter-pointing an urgent, searching vocal on "Give It Lose It Take It". It's a rare boisterous moment, with the rest of the album striking a sweet, slightly fey note that belies the band's Sunderland origins.

Not that Field Music are averse to experimenting, with even the surface prettiness of "Working To Work" underpinned by odd time signatures and some jarring vocal effects. Sadly, that experimentation can backfire, as when the oompah jauntiness of "Sit Tight" is interrupted by a human beatbox that sounds distressingly like a Liberal Democrat MP heavy breathing down the phone.

Still, the majority of this album is sweet, superior pop, like the minor key catchiness of the title track or the playful pianos and Supertramp guitar squiggles of the breezily lovely "A House Is Not A Home". It's too mild and self-effacing to change the charts, let alone the world, but as a gentle antidote to the bombast of so much of today's guitar pop it's a welcome diversion and a reminder that, yes, even indie had its charms.

    by Jaime Gill