The Week That Was - The Week That Was

THE WEEK THAT WAS
The Week That Was

The terrifying term “side-project” usually represents an ill-advised act of vanity; the desire for musicians to free themselves from the artistic shackles of their day-jobs and finally record that wood-wind album they’ve always dreamed of. Either that or it’s merely an excuse for a second-rate, self-indulgent collaboration between back-slapping musical mates (hello, The Saboteurs). Every now and again though, something really interesting and worthwhile occurs. The Week That Was is one such occurrence.

With English band Field Music currently on long-term hiatus, one of its core members, Peter Brewis, crafted The Week That Was, an expansive, atmospheric record, with the assistance of a nine-piece band (including Field Music’s David Brewis and Andrew Moore). Half-an-hour in length, the concept album emerged from an imagined crime thriller and was written by Brewis during a self-enforced weeklong break from TV, internet and radio. It still sounds very much like Field Music of course, but the influence it takes from the likes of visionaries Kate Bush, XTC and Peter Gabriel has created a distinctly cinematic experience. Often the album plays like the soundtrack to a downbeat 80s movie. Strings sweep over Brewis’ North East vocal as flutes, cornets and vibraphones add to the atmosphere without ever cluttering the sound. It’s a dense listen, but there is nothing superfluous on offer here.

The care, thought and attention to detail that has gone into the execution and production of this record is extremely impressive, and Brewis deserves massive credit for turning such an ambitious and daring idea into something so beautiful. A real achievement.