Tones of Town (2007)

You wouldn't guess from the verdant name, but Field Music moves with a distinctly metronomic pulse. Brothers Peter and David Brewis write soaring orchestral pop that sounds like the Flaming Lips' The Soft Bulletin as re-created by a brilliant computer program: Drumbeats, bass lines, and proggy keyboard squiggles interlock like gears while harmonies attack with the frequency of an advanced round of whack-a-mole. If the opaque lyrics on Tones of Town seem like last-minute slaves to the meter, the brothers' amicable yelpings add a human touch.

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