I like Field Music's Tones Of Town. It was nothing ground-breaking or earth shattering for me, but I enjoyed its poppiness, its vast array of instruments, its tight melodies. I suppose I was expecting more of the same, and hoping for even better, with School Of Language's (David Brewis' solo project) debut Sea From Shore. What I got, however, was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in album form. The good, benevolent, Dr. Jekyll side surfaces in the form of the four 'Rockist' tracks that bookend the album. 'Rockist Parts 1 and 2', barely distinguishable as two different tracks, kick things off very strongly, composed around a constant loop of samples of Brewis uttering various vowel-y sounds. 'Part 1' contains a very nice guitar, vocals and melody; 'Part 2' is lacking any vocals other than the same samples from 'Part 1', but is driven by some non-traditional percussion beats and a synthesizer anti-melody.Unfortunately the album turns all Mr. Hyde by the third track, 'Disappointment '99'. It's obvious that Brewis is experimenting here, the track is loaded with fuzzy percussion, irregular proggy guitar riffs and vocal hiccups ”“ "I wasn't trying to be your disapp-p-ppointment, and I'm so sorry if you've waited in vai-ai-ain." It feels like some of the techniques are on the verge of working out nicely, but in the end the whole thing comes off as a bit of a mess. By the time 'Poor Boy' is halfway over the album has taken on the identity of that of a passé 70's classic rock band. Brewis' voice is often reminiscent of Donald Fagen”¦ and I never really liked Steely Dan all that much. There is one rather interesting musical moment over the last minute and a half of 'Keep Your Water' where the 70's vibe wears off briefly through some staccato guitar, clacking drumsticks, shakers and a nice bassline. Until we get to the final 'Rockist' tracks, however, the songs start running together and sounding the same. Almost entirely absent are the piano and strings utilized by Field Music, and the songs are rhythmless and nearly void of melodies.Some of the prog-rock spills over into 'Rockist Part 3 (Aposiopesis)', but the really likable elements of 'Rockist Parts 1 and 2' slowly return. By 'Rockist Part 4' the sampling, and melody, have been reinstated in full and the drudgery of the mid-album can almost be forgotten. In fact, I'm highly tempted to just delete tracks 3-9 from my iPod and call the remaining four tracks the 'Rockist EP'. 55%Links School of Language [official site] [myspace]