Pig-Out

Field Music (Measure)
Field Music
Memphis Industries (2010)
3.5 stars (or 4 per disc)

After taking a two-year break to pursue various solo projects, the boys of Field Music seem to be sprinting to catch up. (Measure) is two discs and twenty tracks long. Yep. Those that are familiar with Field Music's sound (or indeed that of the Brewis brothers' solo outings as School of Language or The Week That Was) will know that just one Field Music track is likely to contain multiple time signatures, musical styles and vocal harmonies, so the thought of twenty of them is ... Well, I'm exhausted just thinking about it. In a way, devouring music of this quality on this scale is like buying a massive bag of lollies, planning on eating them over a week or two, and then scoffing the lot in a single sitting. It's glutenous. A single, precious jelly bean tastes so much better than a bagful. So, with that in mind, I propose the following: Approach the two discs of (Measure) as two separate albums -- two intelligent, intricate, impossible tight guitar pop albums -- and be happy in the thought that you just picked up one of the finest musical 2-for-1 deals in recent memory. They say the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts. In this case, the whole and the sum of it's parts are nowhere as valuable as the parts themselves.

Artwork: B
More in line with the artwork of their debut. The tight, five-line musical staves (is that what they're called?) spattered with bright, fluid paint is actually a nice visual representation of the band's sound.