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The Hot Puppies' singer Becky’s swooning vocals and pin curls bring a sense of old school glamour to the gloomy surroundings. The atmosphere is cosy as over 200 people rammed into the music library expecting to be shushed at any moment by a bespectacled librarian.
‘Terry’s seaside keyboards and Ronnettes style vocals get things off to a gentle start, until they up the ante with ‘Drowsing Nymph’. As the giddy gypsy tambourines start to build, the crowd steadily trickle in until their packed out the door.
They make full use of their coquettish charms with the Blondie stylings of ‘Theda Baron’ taking things into slightly darker territory. The angry caterwaul of ‘Somewhere’ makes way for the soft swooping rhythms of ‘Green Eyeliner’. As one of their older songs it gets nods of recognition from the crowd as people crane their necks for a better look.
‘How Come You Don’t Hold Me No More’ makes the atmosphere suddenly bristle with tension as the sad lament becomes a cry of despair. Becky holds the stare of the crowd, shooting out accusing glances and falling to her knees. The audience are suckered in as she dances into crowd singing ‘Bonnie and Me’.
Headliners Field Music get stuck straight in with angular guitars and Beatles style harmonies of ‘Give It’, while ‘Sit Tight’ has a slightly more off kilter feel. Defying expectations Field Music go off on tangents with musical rambles and never end the song when it’s expected. They take this strange approach on ‘Tones’ until it become a labyrinthine jamming session. Their harmonies incite the inevitable comparisons to their Sunderland comrades The Futureheads, as Peter used to be their drummer, but their leftfield style makes them far less poppy. Their most radio friendly song ‘Decide’ mixes Queen style keyboards and softer vocals, where ‘Tell Me Keep Me’ sounds more like an art experiment. Singer Dave plays around with the vocals until they are almost unrecognisable.
The reception from the crowd is mixed, some are content to nod along, humming the words, other look slightly bemused. ‘Happy’ offers the confused souls respite the Kraftwerk keyboards bounce off shuffling drums and build to a slow swaying rhythm. Moving back to a more somber tone ‘Pieces’ is a commentary on grief, messy relationships and general misery. ‘Work’ fits in well with the library with its offbeat nursery rhyme vocals, ‘Moon’ shows this sweet innocence become far more surreal, definitely not easy listening. Latest single ‘In Context’ sees them let down their guard and attempt a bit of banter with crowd. The chorus is easy to sing along to taking them into almost country and western territory. ‘Pretty’ carries the sing along vibe along and out into a swarm of looping vocals and fuzzy guitars.
Field Music are a band that relish in changing perceptions and defying convention and given the right reception they could be truly magical.
