New Music from The Field

The Field's From Here We Go Sublime was our soundtrack to last winter. It was amazing (still is) and pretty much dominated our listening for a long time. So, we're excited to announce their follow up, Yesterday and Today which hits on May 19th via Axel Willner's own Kompakt label who has teamed up with Anti for this release. The press release promises the same attention to Willner's amazing sampling talents while drawing more heavily on the rhythmic side of the spectrum. This is evidenced by the fact that Willner features Battles' genius drummer John Stanier on the ten minute title track. Keep your eye on the various leading music blogs for exclusive tunes which will surely pop up in the next week or so. No cover art, but track list is after the jump.


THE FIELD
YESTERDAY AND TODAY

I Have The Moon, You Have The Internet - 8:02

Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime - 6:51

Leave It - 11:37

Yesterday & Today (feat. John Stanier) - 10:08

The More That I Do - 8:36

Sequenced - 15:40

Bonnaroo Hangover

Yes, I went to Bonnaroo. Yes, I made it to work this morning. And yes, I have a Bonnaroo hangover. What does that consist of, you ask? Combine heat stroke, a regular hangover and sleep deprivation, add sore joints from sleeping in odd places, mysterious cuts and bruises and sensory overload. Then you're about there.

I can't complain. I went to Bonnaroo for free, had press access and procured an artist pass. Here is a little recap as I come down from the 'Roo:

Who I encountered:
-Jeff Carter of the Philadelphia Flyers, Beatle Bob , The Wood Brothers w/John Medeski, Battles, MGMT, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Amie Mann, Chan Marshall (a.k.a. Cat Power, who winked and smiled at me), Sigur Ros, De Novo Dahl, Alia Shawkat (Maeby from Arrested Development) and Samuel Beam from Iron and Wine.
Best of performances:
-Metallica, MMJ, Superdrag, Battles, The Felice Brothers, The Avett Brothers, Levon Helm, Adele, M.I.A., The Wood Brothers, Two Gallants, Comedian Louis C.K., Cat Power, Sharon Jones, Sigur Ros, Chromeo and others.
Not the worst, but not the best:
-DBT, The Raconteurs, Pearl Jam, Willie Nelson, didn't stay up for it but Kanye, and Rogue Wave.
Best extracurriculars:
-Swag in the artist area, Sunday morning mimosas, free food and drinks in the radio tent, backstage access, clean Port-o-potties, air conditioned press/artist tent, the photo pit, watching the silent disco, the fire exhibit, comedy tent and more.
Worst extracurriculars:
- The coffee in the press tent, mud, security personnel, $6 for everything, the sun, not getting back stage, the main stages, press bleachers, dodging golf carts and more...

Gnarls Barkley & Battles - Myspace Secret Show @ The Fillmore (Irving Plaza)

Battles took the stage in front of a surprisingly receptive crowd and delivered a brilliant set of "bionic rock". A writer once described Battles as half machine, half human. To date, this is one of the best descriptions of the band I have heard. Nowhere is this better exemplified, than in drummer John Stanier. This man is the core of the band, and is yes, a machine. Stanier has to be exact - his time, perfect. He is playing against preprogrammed beats, loops and samples that allow little room for improvisation or error. Stanier's perfection and energy drove the band. He went all out on every tune, and the other members of the band watched him for every perfectly executed change. What resulted was a crisp, fiercely creative, set of avant rock. Working with machines can make a musician's job very easy. Yet, Battles use machines to challenge themselves and their listeners. On stage last night, it was hard to tell the difference between man and machine.

Gnarls Barkley Review after the jump...

Gnarls Barkley took the stage about half an hour later. During that time, the ever rising heat in Irving Plaza seemed to sap the energy from the crowd. There was a slight pick-up as Gnarls took the stage. Cee-lo and "Danger-mouse" are genuine stars and that fact was wasted on no one. Yet, the set started off flat and listless. Cee-lo repeatedly tried to engage the crowd, to get some life out of them. But battling the insane temperature inside the venue was tough. He acknowledged this fact after every song - at one point saying "I'm just trying to get through this shit up here!" After a few well executed titty jokes (Cee-lo now stripped to a white "wife-beater" undershirt), everyone loosened up a bit. Cee-lo literally saved the set, as he dug deep for the song "Just a Thought" by far their best of the night. Yet in the end, it was nearly impossible to sustain that energy for every song. The set descended into a struggle against the heat. Cee-lo gave it his all, and kept me watching for a lot longer than I wanted to. I have no notes on Danger Mouse, the producer that has been slinging himself all around the music industry of late. Stripped of his name and flashy producer title, Brian is little more than just another backing musician on stage. Oh well.
Photo Credit BaoNguyen