FIxation Focus: Fields

C'mon, let's face it here, kids - anything posted on here relating to music in the next few months is more-likely-than-not going to be affiliated with the much-loved, desired, envied, cherished Coachella Festival. And, it so happens that this is one of those posts!

After getting a few listens on Left of Center (Sirius 26) of "Song for the Fields" and "Heretic", I gave Fields a shot and obtained a copy of their EP, "7 from the Village". What I found on that EP is that, even though those two tracks definitely stick out, it has a sound that's kind of on its own. I've always been terrible with trying to classify things or grouping anything into specific genres, only because I listen to what I think is good. There's no need to go about the whole, uh, "proto-post-electroclash-punk" thing with labelling anything. I'm tired of it, and I've always been like that with regard to genres.

But with that all aside... geez...



It's just a nicely textured EP with some tracks that really live out the "Fields" name. For once, there's a band name that actually suits the music well. And maybe that was the intention? From their bio on their website:

...the pastoral idea behind Fields was something that was there from the onset. "I like the idea of having the folky pastoral elements, like the name," says [singer, keys, guitar - Nick Peill]. "But on the other hand it can be quite ambiguous, like fields of white noise, or static. That's what I was trying to allude to.

"Song for the Fields" starts out as something rather quiet, then really gets rolling and kinda makes you feel like you've gone back in time to some other period in your life when things just moved at a rapid pace... and then stopped. The rest of the EP isn't that momentous, but it does give a good taste of what's expected of the band in the future.

What's also worth noting about the band is that they are comprised of different backgrounds, as noted on their myspace. While most of the band is from London and/or Birmingham, UK, vocalist Thorunn Antoni is from Iceland and I'm sure that her input plays a role into the sound of the band. You can certainly pick up on the winter vibes that this band exudes.

With that EP as their first release, their debut full-length, Everything Last Winter, is released on April 3 (in the States) through Atlantic Records, I'm assuming.

Fields plays Coachella '07 on Saturday, April 28.

website: http://www.fieldsband.com/
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/fieldsband