School of Language at the Record Bar

David Brewis, one-third of the acclaimed British indie-pop trio Field Music, has a beast of his own. Working as School of Language, Brewis’ debut solo outing, Sea from Shore, is more raw and rocky than the poppy, harmony-driven Field Music formula. The melodies are sweet, but the music is more distorted, with jagged guitar riffs dashing across blatty bass and crashing, compressed-sounding drums. Brewis’ older-choirboy tenor will be familiar to Field Music fans, as will the album’s rampant syncopation and frequent slips into 3/4 time.
Though he began School of Language with no thought as to how he would recreate his complex, studio-born songs live, Brewis lucked into a deal with Chicago label Thrill Jockey – and nabbed a couple of the label’s top-caliber backing musicians. Filling out Brewis’ equations on the road are Doug McCombs, who is the bassist for post-rock kingpin act Tortoise, and drummer Ryan Rapsys of the experimental one-man act Euphone. — Jason Harper

Thu., March 27, 2008