Plumb

After the strait-laced songs of 2010’s double LP Measure, Field Music – aka brothers Peter and David Brewis – seem to have decided to let their eccentric signature sound blossom on the follow-up.
Though it’s a skittish, gaily-coloured album that gallops along, Plumb can be hard to keep up with. It contains Beach Boy melodies, prog basslines, film score orchestrations, sound effects (bubbles on one track, church bells on the next) and a kitchen sink of sundry sounds.
As that much indicates, on this occasion the boys have taken a reckless but still tightly controlled approach. The result is as enjoyable as it is challenging.
Opener ‘Start The Day Right’ sounds like Supertramp reworking Frank Zappa, while ‘Is This The Picture?’ is akin to a stripped-back Arcade Fire.
What gradually becomes clear is that Field Music clearly don’t give a damn about conventions, old or new. If they’ve got a great idea for a two-minute song, who’s to say they can’t record it? Thus, this is a grown-up album rendered with almost childlike enthusiasm. So what is Plumb? It’s rock, pop and funk stuck in a spin cycle. It’s 15 songs in just over half an hour. Blink and you’ll miss it. Don’t.