Field Music: "Each Time is a New Time" / "Measure"

Almost three years ago, in the midst of promoting their phenomenal sophomore effort Tones of Town, brothers David and Peter Brewis abruptly threw their hands in the air and, to the horror of everyone who’d actually heard that record, announced they were stepping away from Field Music. The reason behind this hiatus being…a sibling rivalry, a la those asspipes from Oasis? Nope. The constant comparisons to Spoon? Not even. Here’s a screenshot from a BBC story explaining—see the fantastic pull-quote for the shorthand:

...continue as a company? Proper jobs?! Things looked grim as the Brewis’ set out to break from the constrictions of their Indie Band, but, boy, they weren’t lying when they said they’d continue making the same music with (basically) the same people. The two went on to make a pair of strong, very Field Music-y albums as School of Language and The Week That Was (which we somehow never reviewed, so, quickly: 80%, terrific production, sounds pretty much like you think it would). And now, somewhat oddly after aggressively rejecting the project, not only are they back together and presumably over their “fuck Field Music” stance, but they’ve got a double album (Measure) on the way in early 2010. Sweet artwork, too.

Don’t get me wrong, this is the best news, but…“no more of that shit” to “no, more of that shit!” so quickly? You’d think that might signal a shift in their approach, especially given a) the addition of new members Kev Dosdale (guitar/keys) and Ian Black (bass), and b) David recently telling Stereogum that “There’s going to be something to offend everything on this record.” That may be true, we’ve got a few months to wait before we know for sure, but to go by just these two songs—available for free on their website “by way of an apology for being away for so long”—well, not so much. “Measure,” with its Kinks-ish chamber pop swells of looping strings and drawn-out harmonies, and the playful classic rock nods (blues riffs! wah leads!) of “Each Time is a New Time” hint instead that the band are embracing the same fundamental pre-hiatus tropes—honed and better produced, yes, but not so far removed from the fidgety, precisely crafted pop of Field Music (2005) and Tones of Town. These are, to the relief and delectation of fans like myself, unmistakably the product of “Field Music indie band”—who, I guess, against their own better judgment, are back competing in the, um, “sphere of indiedom.” Oh well. Our gain.

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