Sluggish Musicologists Following Suit,

I should be cranky if I couldn’t understand or decipher the words of a song. I could be left flailing, searching for meaning and questioning the worth. Having said that I like Sigur Ros, Dungen and the like, but the incomprehension of the words is a given in these cases. Strange Death of Liberal England are from Portsmouth, there are five of them and none of them make sense on occasion.

Lead singer Adam Woolway has a style akin to that heard from groups like Modest Mouse or Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Lyrics on Forward March! are politically wistful, it’s duffing by wailing. A aforementioned, much of the time he and the rest of the band who provide plentiful backing can’t be understood but this adds to the atmosphere – they’re so angry about the Old Fashioned War that they can’t be understood. The album is one to really stick with and through time and effort, words will be learnt and we’ll come to agree with their unhappiness. The tracks are full of layers, the bass guitar and keyboards are responsible for the grandest of these but the tinkling glockenspiel gives their compositions depth and ability to surround the listener. The final track has a quality name, Summer Brought us Sweets but Autumn Wrought Division, and is a monumental instrumental. Strange Death of Liberal England can be compared to many, on every occasion it’d be a compliment but in a way, they have their own sound and it’s one to be in awe of.

Field Music are a band that I've always been wary of. Tones of Town is full of decent pop and it's delightfully playful but I'm not sure that it's enough for me. I can't argue with the quality of many of the songs because I love different compositions and quality musicianship. I'd recommend songs: the title track, Tones of Town, House is not a Home (with it's startling anti-climaxes), Kingston is a mystic and wistful interjection, Working to Work, In Context and I can keep going and almost quote them all as great songs. The problem is that as an album it doesn't come close to anything by Belle & Sebastian, who have an advantage numerically and are better equipped to manage silence because that's what it probably the root of my quarrel. Many of the songs have quiet parts that are unrelaxing and this can be interpretated as jerky, sometimes the orchestration is too harsh and sudden. Field Music are a good outfit, I look forward to the output of School of Language, the new offshoot project.