A few years ago, Dream Pop has really had its moment. With the rise of new bands like Beach House and the resurrection of older bands like Slowdive or Ride, whether its rock or electronic, as long as there are dreamy, reverbed vocals we wanted it. However that style has begun to fade out again and now its time for the artists within the genre to evolve or fade away with the others.
This puts Field Mouse into a better context I think, with the band releasing their debut album You are Here in 2010 and an EP entitled You Guys are Gonna Wake Up My Mom which carried this dreamy pop sound, with slow chilled out songs and a lot of dream pop cliches which frankly get a bit boring very quickly.
However, Field Mouse are returning with their latest full length album Episodic and I have to admit, I was impressed. Ditching the dreamier aspect of their previous releases, the album opener The Mirror kicks off with a fantastically high energy mood with one of the catchiest guitar riffs I have heard this year. Frontwomans Rachel Brown voice is pushed the forefront and no longer hiding behind the instrumentation. This track from start to finish is pumping and feelgood, the kind of track you can imagine yourself soundtracking your summer
Second track Half-Life slows things down very briefly before exploding into the fantastic chorus of “I’ve lived more lives than you”. I love how the band have written this song to be the perfect balance between hard rock and kind of radiohead-esque electro-rock as the song is filled with subtle but fantastically placed synth lines and feedback.
Throughout this album there are some fantastic moments altogether. From the bass driven Beacon which power through as a stand out track because of its pixie-esque style in the verses. Or Widow With A Secret which I think gives Wolf Alice a strong run for their money while also taking the melodic guitar style from some of my favourite bands like Title Fight or Touche Amore.
My absolute favourite moment on this record was definitely the closer, Out Of Context. Filled with feedback solos, messy distorted guitars throwing back to albums like In Utero, which I had also just happened to have rediscovered I absolute loved the slow and destructive way the band lose control creating an absolutely magical moment.
Overall, I think Episodic is a fantastic step in Field Mouse’s Discography. Showing real personal evolution, they certainly aren’t a band ready to be pigeon-holed and I don’t they ever will be. Hugely recommend Episodic to any one looking for great rock music and I personally have found a band I look forward to hearing more from.
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