Field Music: Tones of Town

Label: Memphis Industries

It’s always exciting to watch a band come into its own. We liked Field Music, but we never knew they had Tones of Town in them. From the first few sounds of the opener, “Give It Lose It Take It,” with the humming of a crowd giving way to interlocking marimbas and pianos leading to a fiery guitar riff that could almost pass for classic prog, you know you’re in for something special here. Tones of Town is a pop album all right – catchy melodies in nearly every song – but it’s much more than that; from its witty and plaintive lyrics of alienation and despair to the extraordinary breadth of styles and musicianship, it’s one of those rare albums where ambition matches talent and execution. There are more ideas packed into one song than many entire albums these days – miraculous, given the fact that the songs usually hover around the three-minute mark – with a healthy but uncluttered dose of Beatles-esque experimentalism, intricate harmonies, and stylistic eclecticism. The songwriting team of brothers Peter and David Brewis create memorable characters stuck in dreary situations, spinning suburban ennui into gold. My absolute favorite album of the year. (James)