Measure ★★★
Too Long By HalfThere’s something irresistible about bands containing brothers. The three Wilsons in the Beach Boys; the ever-rowing Gallagher brothers; I’ve even got a soft spot for Dire Straits, thanks to the days when there was more than one Knopfler in that group of headband enthusiasts.
The Brewis brothers are the main movers in Field Music and, with the help of a revolving cast, have been for four albums now. Measure is their first record back after a two-year hiatus during which they both released solo albums: David’s excellent School of Language and Peter’s far more brooding The Week That Was, which managed to channel Peter Gabriel – when he was edgy. Two more critically-acclaimed gems under their belts, it seemed the Sunderland siblings could do no wrong.
But then came the news that Measure was to be a double album. And on first listen it is, as you might imagine, sprawling and overlong. Luckily Field Music’s love for sharp, clever pop is still evident. Most of the songs here never stay in one spot for too long, and offer plenty of ear candy for musos. We get smart time changes, weird effected drums and clever stereo trickery. But after an hour, moves that would seem groundbreaking from another band start to sound pedestrian from these guys. It’s a pity, because buried in there are tracks like ‘Them That Do Nothing’ and ‘Share The Words’, heartfelt British pastoral pop music in the mould of the Kinks or XTC.
The volumes that have been written on double albums often suggest that rather than giving the audience what they want, they’re more about bands that can’t – or won’t – edit themselves. Measure might work better on vinyl; a little more digestable over four separate sides, but in a time when it’s hard enough to get the Kids to listen to a whole album, what chance to do we have of them listening to two? (FMcC)
Massive Attack
Heligoland ★★★★
No Protection Needed
In more ways than one, Massive Attack are back with a bang. The video for the first single from Heligoland features an ageing pornstar looking back on her (very NSFW) repertoire. Not that these agents provocateur need the services of an adult movie star to help them bring sexy back. If there’s one thing Massive Attack have always done effortlessly well, it’s the sultry, brooding, atmospheric stuff.
Much has been made lately of the notion that the band – now a duo – is past its prime. Granted, they’ve yet to return to the vertiginous heights of 1998’s Mezzanine, but this latest release is an extremely worthy stab at that benchmark. Massive Attack have never lost their ability to encapsulate the sound of the new, even within the confines of their trademark trip-hop parameters.
‘Babel’ showcases their neat line in kinetic avant-pop, while ‘Pray For Rain’, featuring TV On the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe, is suitably noirish and provocative. ‘Paradise Circus’, the track behind the aforementioned video, doesn’t even need the vixenish vocals of Hope Sandoval to get listeners hot under the collar. Also on board for guesting duties are Elbow’s Guy Garvey and Blur frontman Damon Albarn, who lends gravitas to the nicely woozy ‘Saturday Come Slow’. Closing off the opus is the filmic ‘Atlas Air’, a menacing three minutes of prime trip-hop.
In fact, this is a prime slice of Massive Attack; ominous, groovy, ambitious. Fresh, charming and boasting a strong pop backbone, Heligoland is meaty enough to sate the appetites of even their staunchest fans. For the rest of us, it’s an enjoyable and engaging album with several textures, tones and moods…and not just a little bit of sex appeal. (TS)
Field Music are a top top band. Can't wait to see them March 5th.
They better play this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jkIR-_sw8g
Posted by: Clarky | February 19, 2010 at 16:39