If I hear another aging rock star proclaiming the death of the genre then I am sure I will fucking implode. The statement in question was obviously not intended to shock or inform, but rather to seek out a bit of latent publicity for whatever project or product is on his or hers current agenda. Without naming names, this person should have had his musician union’s card revoked and banned from every recording studio for eternity after assaulting our ears with the bilge that came out under the moniker “Country Girl”.
It would be an almost incomprehensible task to try and communicate the consequences of rocks’ demise to four young men who have just spent four days in a small studio in England creating a minor masterpiece that now exists as the Celestial EP. Over the course of a week they have played two sublime promotional shows. The first was at the Bodega club in Nottingham; billed as a launch party for the EP it was full of family, friends and passionate music fans alike. The evening was a tremendous success and even a slight technical hitch on the haunting “Hibernate” couldn’t distract from the celebratory atmosphere.
The Celestial EP consists of five self-penned tracks plus a brief introductory opener. Reference points for the band’s musical ethos come from a variety of points on the musical compass. Early post rock such as Low and Slint hover around the edges, as does a smattering of Radiohead in their In Rainbows (QRO review) period. Lyrically they speak of black tides, pelican’s lungs and a myriad of other obtuse subjects. Perhaps unaware of their position and potential in an ocean of musical ambivalence their task is fortuitously simple as there are no pre-conceived notions. They are a band to be enjoyed now as the path to creative excellence is just beginning.
The second gig in their promotional foray is at a small venue again in Nottingham called the Jam Café on Friday, January 10th, where they are supporting another local band called Paper Plane Crash. Opening with the pure Dansk of “Blomst” from the new EP, it is immediately obvious that this performance would be sharper than a week ago. The version of hibernate was full of menace, reminding us all that it’s never to late for rock’s darkness to take us to a place that few other sensory input’s can’t achieve. In a short interview a week ago they cited Aldous Huxley as a major literary influence but they have an almost Kafka-esqueness of early Echo and The Bunnymen, which is highlighted as they crash into a resounding “Mother Tongue”.
Field Studies have made a bold choice of trying to shine like a firefly against the backdrop of rock’s volcanic maelstrom, here’s hoping they forget to stay away from the light.
