Field Music w/ Lawrence Arabia – Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, London 07/01/10

The snow may be fresh upon the streets of London and Hoxton Square resembles an ice-rink of death, but Lawrence Arabia (AKA New Zealander James Milne) is here to inject a dose of summer into this arctic landscape. The recent Bella Union signing, opening for cult Sunderlanders Field Music, has a fine ear for catchy pop melodies, underpinned with a tropical swing not a million miles away from his former band the Ruby Suns. His band share his infectious enthusiasm, adding lively percussion and a dash of trumpet to the mix to complete an undemanding but enjoyable package.

After a successful couple of years dabbling with side-projects School of Language and The Week That Was, the brothers Brewis have reunited the group that brought them to the world’s attention- or at least the small subsection of the world that enjoys slightly askew indie pop, most of whom seem to be in attendance at a jam-packed Bar & Kitchen tonight. There’s a jaunty bounce to their piano numbers that recalls a more restrained My Life Story or early Noughties nearly-men Clor; the guitar-led material has touches of Steely Dan. It’s enough to have established them a fervent and enthusiastic fanbase and yes, there’s an eclectism to their songwriting and a deftness to their guitarwork that puts them head and shoulders above most of their UK contemporaries. It’s also delivered with a cheerfulness that’s difficult to entirely dislike. But this performance is just too polished to astound, too passionless to stir anything but the mildest emotions. Whilst the music is admittedly not to my tastes, I can appreciate its merits on an objective level, even if the amount of critical acclaim they receive may be symptomatic of a British music scene largely devoid of invention. But as live performers they’re par-for-the course, providing adequate levels of entertainment without lingering in the memory.

Photographs by Anika Mottershaw