by
Field Music
- Record Label: Memphis Industries/Revolver.
- Release Date: Feb 16, 2010
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
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Measure can be described as being the metamorphosis that translates Field Music’s born again status. Ambitious as it sounds, it locks itself into a pop compendium, which has always been a strong suit in the past.
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Alternating meticulous power pop ("Measure") and anxious aloofness ("Let's Write a Book") with relaxed twang ("Clear Water") and pliant balladry ("Curves of the Needle"), the Brewises seek a certain balance on Measure. But over this geekily ambitious 20-song double album, that effort proves entertainingly futile.
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Across its many and varied pieces, this collection proves that Field Music truly are a gem of a band.
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Freed from self-imposed musical constraints, ‘Field Music (Measure)’ is big, bold and beautiful.
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This is a record built on the dependable building blocks of guitar, bass and drums, albeit arranged and (presumably) Pro-Tooled into exciting, original new formations.
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The Brewis brothers may be at odds with the modern world, but in this stunningly realised double album, they've created the ultimate sanctuary.
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For something so sprawling, Field Music (Measure) is impressively cohesive, particularly when considering the styles of the two brothers are more distinctive than ever.
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Measure is, if nothing else, a truly crafted record.
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And when the Brewis brothers bust out in full XTC-style guitar-pop mode on the surging “Effortlessly” and the hopeful “Share The Words,” the songs bloom all the brighter.
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Although it packs 20 songs into nearly 70 minutes, Field Music (Measure) feels remarkably concise and well-plotted — a series of harmony-rich guitar-pop ditties and resonant motifs that are covertly part of a larger package.
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Under The RadarThere's a tad too much to sit through on a first listen, but subsequent sit-downs reveal the gleaming allure of slow burners "You & I" and "Precious Plans." [Holiday 2009, p.76]
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After solo projects for both brothers, the regrouped Field Music remains concise but newly prolific on its third album, “Field Music (Measure)” (Memphis Industries), which is packed with 19 songs and a closing instrumental (actually two, including a hidden track).
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Q MagazineThe result is a superbly off-kilter record, from the new wave guitar jerks of Each Time Is A New Time to the strident harmonies and shifting melodies on All You'd Ever Need To Say. [Mar 2010, p.101]
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There is enough variation from song to song to keep listeners engaged; plenty of thoughtful, almost heavy ballads to balance the jumpy, uptempo tracks, lots of different instrumentation in the arrangements, and an assortment of moods from quiet melancholy to slightly louder melancholy.
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The brothers keep it tight though, allowing themselves room to manoeuvre and muck about with time signatures and effects, but within the confines of songs that rarely exceed four minutes.
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MojoThe Brewis brothers opt for distinctive texture of sampled acoustic guitar. Measure--a sprawling gem of album-- is full of such inspired decisions. [Mar 2010, p.98]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 21 out of 26
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Mixed: 1 out of 26
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Negative: 4 out of 26
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Aug 16, 2010
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MatthewDJun 18, 2010Creative, Varied, Authentic, Quirky, Simple, Complicated, Enjoyable!
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stevebMay 17, 2010