The Beat Surrender

I have always been the type of person that will stick his neck out from time to time and say “yep this band are gonna be big this year” etc, etc. Very rarely though do I tell you that a bands debut album is going to be one of the albums of the year for definite…a full month or two before it’s release and weeks before i’ve got my own grubby mitts on it.

Such was my confidence with Fields though, to the point that it didn’t really feel like I was sticking my neck out at all. I chanced upon a couple of their single releases in 2006 and was instantly hooked on them, they were just so different to everything else that was coming out at the time and still are a full year on. Following on from the singles I was lucky enough to catch them live on the MTV2 tour in November, they were the only band that night who competed with Wolfmother on every level.

Wind on a few months and i’ve seen them live again in Sheffield, this time they were supporting Bloc Party, in my eyes they blew them off stage, where Bloc Party are dull and sound weak live, Fields were the opposite, giving a captivating live performance full of noise and bluster, inter-mingled with moments of real subtle beauty.

So here we are in April and Everything Last Winter has finally hit the shops, it’s ten tracks of near musical perfection, everyone in the band playing their part perfectly as they combine to give us sonic slabs of noise that remind you of just what My Bloody Valentine used to be good at before going into exile, then next up they hit you with a 70’s influenced folk track that aches with a raw passion, but is put over to you with beauty and charm.

All great albums need to open strongly (and this is a great album), Fields tick that box by starting with Song For The Fields a track that is as good on record as it is live. Next up is recent single Charming The Flames (something I did while cooking today but thats a whole other story!) and then they bring things down with the soulful folk of You Don’t Need This Song (To Fix Your Broken Heart).

Feathers does distract you away from the vibe of the album, its a claustrophobic sounding song and is the only one on the album that I have doubts about, even then its better than most bands will ever produce. Schoolbooks is the quietest song on the album, a real reflective track that you can lose yourself in quite easily. You are quickly jolted back to life though with the sonic burst of The Death.

You Brought This On Yourself is possibly my favourite track on here and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this released as a future single. The album finishes in fine style with the trio of Skulls And Flesh And More, If You Fail We All Fail and Parasite.

Continue