Field Music – Commontime
Prince’s favourite Sunderland duo get the funk.
FIELD MUSIC'S DAVID AND PETER Brewis return with a spring in their step on possibly their strongest album yet. The characteristic clipped harmonies, prog undertone and hints of Genesis and Todd Rundgren are present, but they have never been this linear before. There is a funk snap too: opener The Noisy Days Are Over could be an early '80s dance-floor filler; Same Name is rubbery in a Gang Of Four way. Most striking is the beautiful, string-suffused The Morning is Waiting, a poignant reflection on the moving on that’s inevitable when you age.
The last traditional Field Music album – there have been solo outings, collaborations and the Music For Drifters soundtrack since – was early 2012’s Plumb. While that was a 35-minute state of the nation address, the delightful, multi-mood Commontime is just shy of an hour, opens things out and is more personal. When ‘maturing’ sounds as satisfying as this, it can be welcomed without reservation.
Watch the video for Noisy Days Are Over here:
Listen to the album in full via Apple Music.