Field Music, surely the best group to come out of Sunderland, UK, is no more – sort of. One of the group’s central songwriter’s David Brewis, 27, said as much while tooling around the country with his new project, School of Language. No fear, students of rock, the musical complexities of SOL’s new Thrill Jockey album, Sea from Shore, will impress those already missing Field Music. Catch Brewis at Hemlock Tavern Friday, March 21.
SFBG: Why make this album under the name School of Language rather than Field Music?
David Brewis: Because I didn’t let Pete or Andy play on it! So it would be a little bit of stress. We talked about doing a bunch of records separately and maybe putting them all out as Field Music records. I thought…we’re not splitting up, but we’re not going to be a band anymore. People really haven’t taken to that idea. Why, I’m not sure. Maybe it sounded like a complicated situation.
They ask, have you split up? I see my brother every day and Pete every week. I was certainly feeling like, after we finished the last Field Music record what I didn’t want to do immediatley was have the three of us tour and try to go back in the studio again. I didn’t feel like it would be much fun. I felt like what Field Music was supposed to be had solidified in people’s minds and in ways it shouldn’t. The idea with Field Music was me and Pete pool our resources in terms of songs and the three of us pool our resources in terms of skills as players, and always do whatever is best for the song regardless of what that entails.