- Critic score
- Publication
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It’s unpredictable, ridiculously clever, catchy as hell and as perfect a pop album as you’re ever likely to hear.
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It's not overestimating matters to call 'Tones of Town' a timeless masterpiece.
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Under The RadarTones of Town carries the precision, sophistication, and sense of fun that made predecessor brainy pop bands like XTC so damned good. [#16, p.91]
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UncutThey're now a glorious band. [Feb 2007, p.76]
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MojoThe result is 31 minutes of constantly surprising music, more absorbing and less conventional than anything on their self-titled 2005 debut. [Feb 2007, p.102]
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The more I listen to Tones of Town, the more I can’t get it out of my head.
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Entertainment WeeklyIf the opaque lyrics seem like last-minute slaves to the meter, the brothers' amicable yelpings add a human touch. [23 Feb 2007, p.98]
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While Tones is tighter, smaller, and more to-the-point than its predecessor, I’m not fully convinced that it’s as good as Field Music.
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There are off-centre, post-hardcore workouts and plenty of edgy but polished, pop fusion pieces, which suggest The Futureheads transplanted to 70s West Coast America.
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They're bright, breezy, accomplished and catchy, indie-pop at its best.
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Q MagazineA great leap forward. [Jan 2007, p.148]
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The mood is joyfully confident, the sunshine-pop and dreamy harmonies as seamless as the carefully constructed ideas that lay behind them.
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New Musical Express (NME)They're a band who are defiantly British and who haven't sold their soul to current trends--and they're all the better for it. [20 Jan 2007, p.29]
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You absolutely, positively cannot go wrong buying this one.
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Beautiful, but never callow, here is an album to fall slowly in love with.
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Tones of Town finds Field Music... hurling themselves into an abyss of pastoral abstraction with a wholeheartedness that is utterly thrilling.
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Tones of Town cements Field Music's place as one of the best pop bands of any kind operating in 2007.
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Paste MagazineThe band doesn't vary its approach much for record number two. [Mar 2007, p.63]
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Tones Of Town sounds genuinely confident, like the band learned to focus more after its 2005 debut.
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Loaded with the sort of multi-tiered melodies you find in the early work of XTC.
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Tones of Town may lack the swooning immediacy of its predecessor, but it still sounds like a labor of love.
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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.
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It’s Field Music’s strength that after a short time, this music finds a way of affecting the listener in a subtle yet deep way.
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The real glory is in watching the trio pull it all off live, perfect harmonies and all.
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BlenderPretty, weird and tricky to get a handle on. [Mar 2007, p.136]
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Extremely unoriginal, but well-crafted rock shot through with tantalizingly brief moments of interest.
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While not entirely mainstream, Tones of Town is also not all that interesting.
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SpinFor all its obvious wit and fizzy energy, Tones of Town ultimately feels self-congratulatory and a bit cold-hearted. [Feb 2007, p.83]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 32 out of 36
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Mixed: 2 out of 36
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Negative: 2 out of 36
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RocoMay 12, 2007Wonderful from start to finish!
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MikeMMay 11, 2007
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EpicCMay 5, 2007Solid and overall just plain fun. Really upbeat and with lots of great hooks and melodies. I highly recommend!