/Rock-Pop/British / European

THE WEEK THAT WAS
the week that was

Release Date: 18/08/2008

this album is not only loved by us but is current album of the month in mojo. the week that was is the new album from the sunderland based field music stable this time helmed by peter brewis. musically the record is an expansive tribute, paying direct (and indirect) homage to the wildly ambitious linn drum and fairlight experiments of kate bush, peter gabriel and tin drum-era japan. this fused with the typically detailed arrangements and sense of drama makes the week that was a brain-shattering, 32 minute epic, straying further outside the conventions of most indie-guitar music. the week that was has a cinematic quality not immediately obvious in field music's previous recordings. 'yesterday's paper' wouldn't seem out of place as an alternative soundtrack to the bureaucratic nightmares of terry gilliam's brazil, though with the surreal melodrama replaced by an uncomfortable realism. true to it's title, 'scratch the surface' sounds like an inescapable, nagging, psychological itch - discomfort dragged into the realms of psychodrama. 'the airport line' conjures the optimism of a train journey between newcastle airport to sunderland. 'the good life' seems to question the rose tinted monocle of the tv eye. more evocative still are the cycles of melancholy running though 'it's all gone quiet' and 'come home', both eulogies to love, loneliness and dependence. the record features contributions from peter's field music colleagues, andrew moore and david brewis, along with pete gofton on vibraphone, singing by jennie redmond, john beattie on cornet and laura cullen on flute, as well as percussive and vocal duties from this ain't vegas' jordan hill and richard amundsen. the strings were played by emma fisk and peter richardson (veterans of previous field music albums) and pauline brandon. the success of the album, however, pivots around peter's deftness and ingenuity as producer, engineer, writer, instrumentalist and singer - it's hard to think of even a handful of artists who would attempt to harness such a sprawl of ideas, let alone who could pull off such a project so astutely.