In terms of getting a leg up on the indie ladder, Sunderland's FIELD MUSIC have something of a head start, bearing in mind their core trio include brothers Peter and David Brewis (ex-drummer and producer respectively for conquering Wearside heroes The Futureheads) and their ever-shifting part-time sessioneers feature Maximo Park drummer Tom English and members of the under-rated Golden Virgins.
However, their eponymous debut album suggests they deserve to be judged purely on the basis of that old-fashioned virtue: merit. Because, while their contacts and associations (hell, front Futurehead Barry Hyde was also once a Field Music member) are currently tres chic, their music is an enigmatic thing of wonder in itself and these 12 unlikely, but largely excellent tracks suggest numerous possibilities for the future.
OK, there are places where they do naturally seem to gravitate towards The Futureheads' infectious quirkiness ( the herky-jerky, but pleasantly sparse opener "If Only The Moon Were Up", the strident "You Can Decide"), but it's never an overbearing issue, and besides the band's own devices such as Andrew Moore's diverse piano colouring soon mark them out as their own entity. Hell, even when FM employ patented 'Heads-style sonics such as the barbershop harmonies that sunburst during the closing "You're So Pretty" they're a whole lot more autumnal and otherworldly on their own terms than Barry's boys could ever be.
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Besides, most of the time, Field Music's tangible desire to explore and experiment within the pop firmament is fascinating in itself. Songs like "Tell Me Keep Me" display a harder edge and think nothing of marrying growling basslines with West Coast harmonies, splatches of strings and the odd sonic pile up for good measure, while the staccato excitement of "17" manages to be jarring and airy all at once and remarkable debut single "Shorter Shorter"s two minutes has more Proggy bits and middle eights than you've had hot dinners, but - crucially - always keeps a weather eye out for the tune along the way.
But really, at an economic 37 minutes, "Field Music" in its' entirety is an infinite thrill, pretty much devoid of weak links. It's intelligent, thoughtful, sorts the hooks from the quirks and makes for a refreshing album that deserves better than to simply be successful by dint of association.
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