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album: Tones of Town
artist: Field Music
label: Memphis Industries / 2007
score: 85 < click to learn more

by Tim Mathiesen

Field Music's debut self-titled album received a lot of attention from both critics and fellow artists. Just as the public was beginning to forget about them, they released their sophomore album, Tones of Town to critical acclaim. I enjoyed their first album, but not enough to rush out and purchase their new album, so I was excited when I had the opportunity to hear it. It had the immediacy of their debut album, yet it was built on a much tighter signiture sound and beat. I was incredibly impressed. This is not the musicianship that I had previously heard. The songwriting was good on their debut album but this even exceeded it with its variety and extremely catchy melodies.

Every song is extremely memorable and an enjoyable listen. Though there is a lot of variety, each song posesses a sound that ties the entire album together. The sound is comprised of a melody built on a unique beat that was evident on the bands last album, but not perfected until Tones of Town. The result is a catchy melody with a driving repetative beat that twists and turns throughout each song. That is really the only way I can describe it. The band Spoon is similar in the way that the rhythm drives each song, but Field Music's songs are looser and seem to be folk-based rather than Spoon's rock and R&B influence.