the wreckroom: 6/1/09

since this space never listens to radio, watches t.v. or rarely ventures farther than the neighborhood po-boy shop, word from the outside takes awhile to filter in. but when the good stuff eventually does get through, well, we get really excited...

such is the euphoria felt as we discovered the music of peter and david brewis, two brothers from sunderland england. together (under the guise of 'field music'), and separately, they are making sounds that can only be labeled as 'prog-pop'.

it is a smart, 21st century music loaded with heavy rhythmics, thought out lyrics, sweeping brian wilson harmonies, and loaded beatlesque melodies. the stuff they are doing is really like nothing we have heard before, yet reminds us of a whole lot of other things, xtc, yes, squeeze, todd rundgren, genesis, the police, peter gabriel, and even some gershwin in it all, of all things. it really is that good.

one find led to another, even better find. then another, then....

well, the lineage is kind of like this, 'the futureheads', (in which david brewis played drums, tho no longer), 'field music', (where the brothers got together to make one great angular pop album and some b-sides), 'school of language', (the first solo project, done by peter, very guitar heavy and hook laden), and'the week that was' (this is david's band that is the album, a lush sonic experiment that works on so many levels at once...).

with each step up the music gets infectious, denser, quirkier, and more complex. the brewis brothers have changed our musical world with their craftsman-like vitality and modern pop rock pop sensibilities.

we can't wait to hear what they do next!