Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 18
  2. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. Spin
    91
    Few bands this side of Wilco float along so easily on little more than diagonally rendered elegiac noises and severe anxiety disorder. [Mar 2006, p.95]
  2. Field Music is a joyful piece of pop art, and a case study in how fragments can make mosaics.
  3. Entertainment Weekly
    83
    It's an excellent nod to XTC's mod-pop, played with a frenetic edge for the ADD generation. [7 Apr 2006, p.63]
  4. The record is a gem. Twelve tracks with a sense of cohesiveness that side-steps homogeneity in favor of straight-up old-fashioned album workmanship.
  5. What is most interesting about this record, apart from it’s self-assured collection of off-beat laments is the amount of exciting doorways it flings open for the future.
  6. Mojo
    80
    [An] intriguing debut. [Sep 2005, p.103]
  7. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    A debut offering of preposterously ace swoon-pop. [6 Aug 2005, p.56]
  8. Instead of embracing the angularity of the self-conscious Britpop and New Wave scenes of yore, Field Music embrace the sugary pop-rock that defined the first British Invasion.
  9. Smart, inventive, and exciting guitar pop.
  10. Paste Magazine
    80
    Effortlessly blends candy-pop conventions with the concise edge of punk. [Jun/Jul 2006, p.128]
  11. More ephemeral than Clor, more cerebral than the Rakes, Field Music has, like the Magic Numbers, fashioned a distinctive voice and near-perfect arrangements, but the songs hint at greatness nearly as often as they achieve it.
  12. These are songs that veer to and fro, frequently sounding as if they’re nearly about to run off the rails.
  13. Even Paul McCartney himself hasn't made an album this McCartneyish for some twenty-odd years now.
  14. Q Magazine
    70
    Hard work but worth the effort. [Oct 2005, p.117]
  15. Under The Radar
    70
    A top-to-bottom solid collection of art pop. [#13, p.85]
User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 13 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 1 out of 13
  1. LawrenceP
    Sep 12, 2006
    8
    At first it seems kind of plain...but after half a dozen spins, it hits you in the most sublime way and I love every note of it!
  2. BenJ
    Apr 10, 2006
    8
    I can't think of another album I've bought which has taken so many spins before I've finally "got" it. Initially disappointing I can't think of another album I've bought which has taken so many spins before I've finally "got" it. Initially disappointing at first it's brilliance grows after numerous spins. Well worth investigating. Full Review »
  3. WomboA
    Apr 7, 2006
    9
    Sounds like Elbow on candy and ecstasy. And XTC.