More about: Field Music

With Flat White Moon, Field Music have basically made a pop album, which if you’re familiar with the band's distinctive and eclectic discography, is pretty disappointing.

'Quirky' sounds like an insult but that would probably be the best way to describe albums such as the short and sweet Plumb and Making A New World. A concept album about the post-WW1 world, Field Music were always interesting, in tune with the classic but never fully indebted to them. With Flat White Moon the Brewis brothers wanted to present negative emotions in an uplifting way and it may have worked too well; while there’s some great songs here, Flat White Moon comes across like 20th century pop karaoke. 

Songs like the cringe-inducing Beatles-esque faux folk of ‘When You Last Heard From Linda’ encapsulates the problem I have with Flat White Moon. It may be due to my recent revelation that The Beatles were actually kind of shitty (treasonous, I know) but ‘When You last Heard From Linda’ sounds dated. The track gave me goosebumps in a nails on chalkboard, rubbing a balloon kind of way, which has never happened on any previous Field Music track. While nothing else on the album reaches those kinds of horrific depths again, most of Flat White Moon breezes by in a semi-pleasant but ultimately forgettable way. Forgettable is a word I never would have expected to use when talking about Field Music and that’s such a massive shame.

There are good tracks here, ‘Out Of The Frame’ is an absolute bop with its warm guitars and the best vocals on the album. It’s perhaps a glimpse of what this album could have been and it comes the closest to accomplish Field Music’s vision for this album. ‘No Pressure’ is also a fun pop banger which could have done without the diabolical ‘ooh-la-la's’ but still manages to be an awesome song, with its funky bassline and driving drumbeat. 

Overall, Flat White Moon is not great but had potential. Field Music are more than capable of making a pop album that isn’t devoid of what makes them special, but this isn’t it. 

Flat White Moon is out now.

More about: Field Music