Coachella Misses You, Too - Pt. 2

Yesterday, I went over what interested me from the first nite of this year's Coachella. Tonite, I'll continue the trend and go over Saturday.


Courtesy of kathryn.

Fields - After writing about 'em more than a month ago, I'm still lovin' me some Fields. Their debut album, Everything Last Winter, hits the shelves on the 3rd of April. If it's anything like their great EP, "7 From the Village", then we're in for a treat. To have an early appearance in Gobi would be a safe assumption.


Courtesy of mediaeater.

The Fratellis - Don't let the acoustics mislead you with this group. I've only heard a couple of tracks from their album Costello Music and I know I must see these guys live. If "Chelsea Dagger" doesn't sound like a stereotypical downing-a-pint-in-a-packed-pub track, I don't know what does. That song just makes me want to drink Guinness... and I hate Guinness. Regardless, The Fratellis have a ton of energy, and I'm looking forward to catching 'em at Coach. They just announced a tour with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, but, unfortunately, they aren't on the dates that bring them to Atlanta (or the Birmingham show, which I'd rather attend). With that said, seeing The Fratellis is high on my list.


Courtesy of kathryn.

Peter, Bjorn & John - While everyone went crazy over "Young Folks" last month (and possibly earlier) and how PB&J apparently invaded New York City, I was going nuts over another track from their recent album, Writer's Block. The fourth track on their myspace player is the one that gets me each and every time - "The Chills". I love the drumbeat and how it really carries the song. I do appreciate the band for what they do, but that track is, right now, one of my favorite tracks of the year.


Courtesy of Emdashes.com.

The New Pornographers - I was vaguely familiar with this band before the release of Twin Cinema and the thing that happened to stick out with them was "low-fi". I just had this impression that this band was about quiet-time with poor mic setups and four-track recordings. I still haven't delved into their back catalogue, but I'm glad I got over that mindset because I really dig Twin Cinema. It's just a loud, in-your-face production record with concise songwriting. I could see a late afternoon set on the Outdoor Theater stage, getting ready for sunset. That would be nice.


Courtesy of jonathas.

The Good, The Bad & The Queen - First off, yeah, the pic isn't the best out there, but because I'm a sucker for Lost, I couldn't deny using a pic from a venue that includes a Dharma-esque logo as their own. Back to the subject at hand... I have never cared for Blur. I have never cared for Gorillaz. I have certainly never cared for Damon Albarn. So you'd think that the odds are stacked against this band with me. For now, you're close to right, but things are starting to turn around. For days, I couldn't get "Herculean" out of my head and the only thing I could think about was how it would sound out in the desert. Also, "History Song" isn't half that bad. Considering this is only a one-album type deal for this superband, maybe they should hold it together while Graham Coxon figures out whether he wants to come back to Blur territory. Their material does appear promising, and I'm sure that this Coachella appearance will really enhance their image in this country.


Courtesy of mediaeater.

The Arcade Fire - Ah, the cream of the crop. You can't hate on this band. Mayyyyyybe it's possible after just hearing their albums. Hell, I'll admit that it took me a while to really get why people were FREAKING OUT over Funeral. But I finally did get it, and I realized it was pretty stinkin' good. After a couple friends of mine saw The Arcade Fire a few months before Coachella, they couldn't stop talking about their live show. Then, I saw footage from their appearance on Conan. Then I saw some interview clips, along with some more live performances. I was slowly getting it - but I didn't have the whole picture in perspective. And then there was me strongly urging my friends to stay after Tegan and Sara's set in '05 to catch this band that, really, I had no experience with in the live setting. I was only going on word of mouth at this point. Turns out that this was the set that stole the weekend, if not the year. Now, I find myself two years later still freaking out about this band, a band that I last saw at that Coachella. Since then, this band has opened for U2, recorded and released a new album, and almost conquered the universe. It's hard to imagine them going on right before the icky Red Hot Chili Peppers, and that's probably the case. While I'd love to have them close out the Outdoor Theater (that they happen to pwn), that's doubtful and I know that this is one band that you can always rely on to amaze you in the live setting.

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