The intangible ‘it’; that moment when you’re listening to a record and it just makes you want to sing along and punch the air; that moment when you know a record’s not just good, or excellent but exceptional. As someone who has been writing about music for a long time – nigh on 15 years – it’s still the reason I do it. Not to belittle a band or make myself feel important, but to listen to new music in the hope that it gives me that indescribable ‘it’ moment. Only 4 songs long (plus a couple of digital bonus tracks) but Track and Field’s debut ‘You Are My Home’ throws such moments around with such reckless abandon they make this music lark appear so simple.
Take, for example, ‘Swift’ with its mathy, almost funky, wandering guitar line and superb gang-vocal chorus if you want an exhibit A. Or the gorgeous, rolling ‘World’ which recalls the likes of Chamberlain or latter-day Jazz June (it also works beautifully when stripped back to an acoustic song as one of the bonus tracks) if you need more convincing.
In fact, there’s not a bad song on offer. ‘For A While’ harks back to the glory days of Deep Elm, sitting snugly alongside the powerful yet accessible sounds of Camber and Brandtson, while ‘Ghost Sleep’ is a wonderful riot of layered vocals and strong melodies.
As I alluded to before, there’s really nothing better than a band absolutely nailing their sound and style from the off, and for a debut (even if the guys involved have had a strong musical heritage), ‘You Are My Home’ is simply breath-taking. Naturally, Track and Field deserve to find a huge audience, and it would be a real travesty if we’re not hearing a lot more about them over the next 12 months.
5/5
‘You Are My Home’ EP by Track and Field is out now.
Track and Field links: Website|Facebook|Twitter
Words by Rob Mair (@BobNightMair)
