Fields : Everything Last Winter

<a href="Reviews/Album_Reviews/Fields_%3A_Everything_Last_Winter/"><img src="http://www.qromag.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/fieldseverythinglastwinter.jpg" alt=" " /></a> Of all the recent musicians with "Field" in their name (also Field Music, The Field), Fields may be the most interesting.  Fields, with...
7.8 Black Lab/Atlantic
2007 

 Of all the recent musicians with "Field" in their name (also Field Music, The Field), Fields may be the most interesting.  Fields, with English/Icelandic roots, uses a base sound of churning twang and mixes in elements of shoegaze, twee, and psychedelia.   Their debut album, Everything Last Winter, has both an epic and intimate sound, full of rapturous refrains, radio-friendly vocals, and soothing acoustica.

Where Fields succeeds most is turning a 90’s britpop sound into kaleidoscopic energy rush without losing the pop elements in the churn.  Each song on Everything Last Winter has an absorbing rhythm upon which vocals flow (both male and female) and guitars go through a wash of effects.  The beat on "Feathers" saunters underneath a grungy guitar rhythm while Thorunn Antonia and Nick Peill harmonize before letting the drone fever consume the guitars.  "Song For The Fields" starts off with a vocal harmony over an acoustic rush, then flicks the power on.  There are basic pop elements scattered throughout the album, but they’re nicely hidden behind a distorted rock wall.  

The softest moments on Everything Last Winter are complex without sacrificing catchiness.  "You Don’t Need This Song (To Fix Your Broken Heart)" has a pattering snare-driven rhythm mixed in with an acoustic jog, arpeggiated xylophone, and a soothing, heartfelt duet.  Similar, "Schoolbooks" starts off with an acoustic vocal harmony, then skates along a snare beat while serious shoe-gazing kicks in.  Fields do an impressive job of mixing experimentation with formality.

Drawing from 90’s British influences, then mixing and updating them, Fields form a collection of sophisticated, fetching tracks.  Soaring effects, liquid vocals, and powerful rhythms spell out an album that’s catchy and complicated, and ultimately, an ideal post-britpop record.  Everything Last Winter is easily enough to separate them from the rest of the "Field".

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