A little over three years have elapsed since the journey began, and its speed and trajectory are still in the hand of these pioneering seekers of an artistic nirvana. The journey is, of course, cerebral rather than physical, but the analogy is so intertwined to be almost transparent. The laws that govern both can be explored and developed with a will and imagination to break away from the mundane. Most lack this and once the initial spark has faded then most artists are content to remain locked into a repetitive orbit of zero vision and clarity before crashing back to desolate “Ballardian dessert” of wasted opportunity. The journey that the band in question are inexorably perusing is littered with the detritus and corpses of the true utopian prophets, Curtis, Barrett and Morrison to name but three of these doomed seer’s. The alternative is so repulsive as to be an affront to the listener with so many artists locked into the gravitational pull of tradition and craft.
Field Studies, who played Bodega Club in Nottingham on Wednesday, November 2nd, are seemingly entering a region of artistic space where they are being buffeted by the twin mega quasars of Jeff Buckley and an undefinable post rock originality of their own creation. This has resulted in an angularity and time disturbance that is both alluring and unique. Their stage presence is one of confusion and wonder, as if the cheers and congratulatory applause are so alien as to be of no consequence to their ultimate goal. There was the occasional glance over their collective allegorical shoulders at past compositions but the speed of evolution has morphed and twisted them into mere pastiches of their original form. Another genuine artistic caliph was the late great David Bowie, who himself asked a very trite and unambitious question in one of his most recognisable compositions. “Is there life on Mars?” is such a prosaic question as to be totally irrelevant. The defining question is therefore, what can we do with the untapped imagination and boundaries within our own cortex in all areas with artistic exploration being as fundamental as any other?
The evening’s performance was the final night of a short tour around the United Kingdom to promote their latest release, a four track EP Rainmaking, which again emphasized the colossal distance travelled in the briefest period of time. Their debut EP (Celestial) seemed aeons ago and with its shimmering gossamer like fragility introduced the world to the fledgling band. One of the tracks from the new EP was “Hibernate”, with its yearning desperate refrain containing the lyric, “I’ll be there in a hurry,” and wherever that may be you can rest assured the journey will be one of discovery and enlightenment.
