Field Music - Field Music (Measure)

A British group making harmonic pop music with blasts of classic rock riffs sprinkled throughout and I can only think of one band. And while Field Music isn't specifically channeling Wings on this double album, it still feels very '70s AM to me. Not the sunny "AM GOLD!", but general clean, pop-rock. No real hint of electronic or hip-hop influence or anything much later than the last good Beach Boys album.

"Measure" for example, could be a disco-less ELO. A string quartet carries the main riff, the drummer avoids the straight beat to keep it interesting and the bass and acoustic guitar are up in the mix with real live instrumentalists behind them.

"Lights Up" on the other hand, sounds vaguely Pink Floyd-ish on a particularly good day. It's like Field Music took some of that determined drone of "Us and Them" and just changed the record speed to 45 instead of 33rpm.

"Let's Write A Book" is the first hint of a synthesizer relationship. It's got a Franz Ferdinand rhythm to it, and the riff is lawyer-notifyingly close to KISS' "Heart Of Chrome". It's good, but you're going to be checking to see if your phone is ringing on every chorus.

The second disc slowed down in pace and got outright atmospheric at times. The last track is little more than string notes fading in an out over outdoor ambiance. But I have a prejudice against double albums in general and think that if you've got that much material, you're probably failing to sufficiently edit. Overall, though- I like it a lot more than I thought I would for this style of music. And that's noteworthy. If you can hold some one's attention who's not into your style, then you must be doing something right. (3 of 5 stars)