The Week That Was
The Week That Was
Memphis Industries, 2008
By Allana Mayer
The Week That Was, while also the name of a defunct British sitcom, represents Peter Brewis — formerly (“currently?” fans wonder) of Field Music. I went into this album with the naive hope that I would hear another Field Music album, as did many Brewis Brothers fans, I’m sure. This album has the old crew along to assist, but with Peter running the show it just ain’t the same, and we all know it.
My first impression (other than disappointment) was that this sound is much more severe. The first lyric that sticks out is “If I have to learn to learn, where do I begin?” Which seems poignant, if you’re, say, a disillusioned recent graduate, or a disillusioned high-school dropout (the two attitudes are often eerily similar).
Second track “The Good Life” starts with an odd rhythm, and features more heavy percussion as well as some accentuated keyboards, xylophone, and a great synth part. The panning on the drums, and in fact the meticulous attention to the many details that comprise each complex arrangement, is on par with that of my beloved Field Music album, and this is very strongly in favour of The Week That Was. Yet the severity, the negativity, the hopelessness, simply isn’t healthy.
While some parts feel less passionate and more formulaic (emphasized choruses are straightforward rather than sparing; tracks are as short and single-minded as before) the musicianship and talent is still evident, and those string sections are just as moving as ever. Compare these traits to brother David Brewis’s School Of Language project, and you get a neat division of the talents that melded so well before. These parts became greater in sum, however.
“It’s All Gone Quiet” is creepy and unsettling even as it tries to move from dour to optimistic and grandiose. My heartstrings remain untugged. It’s like going from a tearjerking movie to CNN — you should care, but you’d rather just turn reality off and dwell on the fiction. Once “The Airport Line” comes on, your nose is irreversibly wrinkled in dislike for the meaningless refrain and likewise horrible lyrics. And so it goes. Ah well.
