How do you solve a problem like Iceland? Something about that island and its quirky bands—I don’t know. The Sigur Rós track was indeed delightful, and I had the perfect follow-up in mind: Björk’s “In the Musicals,” which amped up the oddness with a hefty dose of Looney Tunes batshitery. But alas, my external HD is fried at the moment so I can’t get to it. And besides, we’ve gone 11 volumes without repeating an artist, so why start now?
That brought me to the dreary north of England, where a number of bands have fought against rainy winters to produce tight and wonderful albums. The most inventive of these is Field Music, who grow more interesting with each passing year. Two brothers and their friend create complex songs that rope in a capella harmonies, ‘70s-style soft rock, chamber pop, ‘80s Fairlight synths, string sections, handclaps, cowbells and much more. “You’re Not Supposed To” is from a 2005 single, and perhaps doesn’t quite echo “Gobbledigook”’s wild joy as it smoothes out its edges and streamlines it, like coal under pressure, to create a compact, sturdy, shiny diamond of a pop song.
m. joosse
Filed under: Mixtape, NEIMT, Vol 11, Field Music
I like the idea that as this volume of the Never Ending Mixtape draws to a close our choices are returning to something a bit more distilled, stripped-down. My instinct was to push it even further—something acoustic, maybe even an a cappella. What I found is something I think sits in this mix even better. Kings of Convenience are masters of stripped down acoustic pop and with just the subtlest mix of beats and edits from Royskopp this remix is a nice distillation of everything we’ve heard this chapter of the NEIMT: straight-forward songwriting, smart electronic flourishes and a bittersweet emotional duality.
