MB Album Club 2022

Trollheart · 09-14-2022, 10:15 AM

Tones of Town - Field Music

I hate to be Negative Norman again, but I find nothing interesting in this album. It's not that it's bad, but it's not that it's good either. It's just meh, all right. I've listened to it twice now and have no desire to listen a third time. There's just nothing here that grabs me. Only one track really - "A Gap Has Appeared" even piqued my interest, and that was quickly subsumed by the ones that followed. It's just too, I don't know, generic? I find it odd that Rubber Soul called it a unique sound: other than the sort of sound effects on most tracks (people talking, door bells ringing, that sort of thing) which I actually find quite annoying, I found nothing here that made this stand out. It's an album that, had I heard one track, I would not have bothered listening to the second. And I'd have been right. Definitely not for me.

Sorry, Marie.

Rating (as it's not that it's terrible, just bland and made no impression on me) 5/10

**Marie Monday** · 09-14-2022, 12:42 PM

No worries! Thanks for the review everyone. As to the unique sound assessment, I agree. The reason I like it is that it's in many ways a straightforward, melodious pop album but it's also full of funny rhythms, little twists and angles and other playful little surprises

SGR · 09-14-2022, 03:50 PM

I still have to listen to it, sorry for the hold up

**Marie Monday** · 09-14-2022, 04:03 PM

There's no hurry

SGR · 09-14-2022, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marie Monday

There's no hurry

The new album starts in 3 days, the last thing I want is to be admonished by Trollheart!

rubber soul · 09-14-2022, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGR

The new album starts in 3 days, the last thing I want is to be admonished by Trollheart!

And it's your album so you better start to get crackin'

Trollheart · 09-14-2022, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGR

I still have to listen to it, sorry for the hold up

I believe the phrase is a stick-up...

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGR

The new album starts in 3 days, the last thing I want is to be admonished by Trollheart!

That costs extra.

SGR · 09-15-2022, 04:33 PM

Field Music - Tones of Town

What’s this talk about distracting effects? I didn’t get that with this album - in fact, it sounded to me like fairly straight forward, accomplished indie-rock music. It actually reminded me a lot of Spoon. Admittedly, I’m not a big fan of Spoon, but I won’t turn them off when they pop up in a playlist. I think these songs are well-written, but for some reason, they don’t really differentiate themselves much to my ears. There’s a bit of a lack of….well….hooks, I suppose. The songs feel like sketches of an idea, rather that fully realized individual visions - in some cases, this approach can be wonderful (Pink Flag, Double Nickels on the Dime, etc.) but in this case, it doesn’t quite reach that level of wonder. In those albums, even though so many of the songs feel like sketches, many of them contain these highly unique musical phrases, breaks, and self-contained hooks. The pacing will often be interrupted briefly, bringing your attention to something specific, before resuming operation - you don’t forget it when it happens - here, it feels like a fairly well-maintained tempo of indie-rock chug, sprinkled with some “oohs”, “aahs”, and a bit of dusting of unique instrumentation (xylophone, synths, strings, piano, etc.).

I uhhhh….I like it. But I wouldn’t say I love it. It’s serviceable. Like Spoon, I wouldn’t turn it off if it popped up on my speakers. But also like Spoon, I feel that it’s missing something - it’s missing truly memorable hooks, it’s missing some kind of aggression, it’s missing a deeper feeling and emotion that marks my favorite kinds of music. Perhaps the most surprising part of the whole album to me was the vocal beatboxing at the end of “Sit Tight”. It sounds a little silly, but you know what, it sold me on it upon the second listen.

To Marie: thanks for the rec, and I’m curious, is this sound of theirs consistent through their discography or does their sound change? Are there any other albums of theirs you’d recommend to a newcomer?

6.5/10

Edit: ****, rubber soul already compared them to Spoon, here I was thinking I was being original.

Carpe Mortem · 09-15-2022, 05:47 PM

I think I'll need to keep out of this one folks. I've been sick as a dog all week and can't give it the decent review it deserves.

**Marie Monday** · 09-15-2022, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGR

To Marie: thanks for the rec, and I’m curious, is this sound of theirs consistent through their discography or does their sound change? Are there any other albums of theirs you’d recommend to a newcomer?

I have no idea actually! I don't know any of their other albums (yet)

09-14-2022, 10:15 AM	#501 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Tones of Town - Field Music I hate to be Negative Norman again, but I find nothing interesting in this album. It's not that it's bad, but it's not that it's good either. It's just meh, all right. I've listened to it twice now and have no desire to listen a third time. There's just nothing here that grabs me. Only one track really - "A Gap Has Appeared" even piqued my interest, and that was quickly subsumed by the ones that followed. It's just too, I don't know, generic? I find it odd that Rubber Soul called it a unique sound: other than the sort of sound effects on most tracks (people talking, door bells ringing, that sort of thing) which I actually find quite annoying, I found nothing here that made this stand out. It's an album that, had I heard one track, I would not have bothered listening to the second. And I'd have been right. Definitely not for me. Sorry, Marie. Rating (as it's not that it's terrible, just bland and made no impression on me) 5/10 __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

09-15-2022, 05:47 PM	#509 (permalink)
Carpe Mortem Crusher of tiny Nords Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Ugly Bag of Mostly Water Posts: 1,363	I think I'll need to keep out of this one folks. I've been sick as a dog all week and can't give it the decent review it deserves. __________________ [SIG][/SIG] Mirth is King Be Loving & Open With My Emotions

09-14-2022, 03:50 PM	#503 (permalink)
SGR No Ice In My Bourbon Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: /dev/null Posts: 4,327	I still have to listen to it, sorry for the hold up

09-15-2022, 04:33 PM	#508 (permalink)
SGR No Ice In My Bourbon Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: /dev/null Posts: 4,327	Field Music - Tones of Town What’s this talk about distracting effects? I didn’t get that with this album - in fact, it sounded to me like fairly straight forward, accomplished indie-rock music. It actually reminded me a lot of Spoon. Admittedly, I’m not a big fan of Spoon, but I won’t turn them off when they pop up in a playlist. I think these songs are well-written, but for some reason, they don’t really differentiate themselves much to my ears. There’s a bit of a lack of….well….hooks, I suppose. The songs feel like sketches of an idea, rather that fully realized individual visions - in some cases, this approach can be wonderful (Pink Flag, Double Nickels on the Dime, etc.) but in this case, it doesn’t quite reach that level of wonder. In those albums, even though so many of the songs feel like sketches, many of them contain these highly unique musical phrases, breaks, and self-contained hooks. The pacing will often be interrupted briefly, bringing your attention to something specific, before resuming operation - you don’t forget it when it happens - here, it feels like a fairly well-maintained tempo of indie-rock chug, sprinkled with some “oohs”, “aahs”, and a bit of dusting of unique instrumentation (xylophone, synths, strings, piano, etc.). I uhhhh….I like it. But I wouldn’t say I love it. It’s serviceable. Like Spoon, I wouldn’t turn it off if it popped up on my speakers. But also like Spoon, I feel that it’s missing something - it’s missing truly memorable hooks, it’s missing some kind of aggression, it’s missing a deeper feeling and emotion that marks my favorite kinds of music. Perhaps the most surprising part of the whole album to me was the vocal beatboxing at the end of “Sit Tight”. It sounds a little silly, but you know what, it sold me on it upon the second listen. To Marie: thanks for the rec, and I’m curious, is this sound of theirs consistent through their discography or does their sound change? Are there any other albums of theirs you’d recommend to a newcomer? 6.5/10 Edit: ****, rubber soul already compared them to Spoon, here I was thinking I was being original.