Neon Fields PV056
Neon Fields – Neon Fields PV056
I came across this interesting new band courtesy of my visit to Wokingham Festivals Prog and Rock Day in August this year, they were the opening band if the day,
Neon Fields are a Three-piece band formed in the southwest Bristol area in early1 2020 just before the first lockdown occurred (March 20th 2020) The band comprises Ed Barrett ( vocals), Luke Russe (drums) and Piers Ward (keyboards and guitar). They describe their music as electronic rock and cite a wide range of influences from dark industrial rock with atmospheric synth and vocals packed with passion and emotion.
So let’s have a listen and see what we think shall we?
The cd has 13 tracks, including the single releases, namely Meant To Be, Light Them Up, Time To Leave and Cage Of Lions.
The album Commences with Paths which is a moody instrumental opening track with heavy synth bass and pounding drums, it is only a brief track leading into Rituals where we first encounter the strong clear vocals of Ed Barrett, the sound is very electronic in nature with more than a hint of groups like OMD and their ilk, there is good use of percussion along with the strong drumbeat, there is also space in the instrumentation to allow the vocals to stand clear.
Bleak is next and this has an air of oppression and being contained about it 2ith its references to a cold environment as he pleads to be set free from this cold whether it refers to his environment or his own life situation is not totally clear although I suspect it is the latter.
Meant To Be is next, This song is about a relationship where one party is more committed whilst the other is more indifferent to it, this does create a sense of menace in the sound, a great middle section of synths and percussion interactions make a good impression here, I do like this track. Despite its bleak atmosphere.
Cage Of Lions is next this talk about a world that has lost it way and isn’t thinking straight at all, the application of Tick Boom suggests a time constraints resolve the problems that are facing the world it suggests there is hope, I believe this is about the environment and the need for change that governments are dragging their heels on addressing properly and in a timely manner.
Light Them Up is next this is a song about feeling pursued by folks around who are feeding into his anxiety and disquiet, the chorus of I’m Gonna light them up is very effective coming as it does on a barrage of percussive beats, the song is very dark especially as the Protagonist in the song is a troubled man who is also convinced he is being watched and hunted, his response is to plot to lure his hunters to a location where he can detonate explosives which will end both his life and theirs, it I’d quite a deep and harrowing song despite its dark themes the music is strong and atmospheric çreating a real sense of bleakness and despair.
This track is also the albums longest track and it is a standout track of the album for me.
Burial is up next and this is another disturbing song in that it deals with folks who want to bury someone who resents the worship that happens in neon fields of light, I’m not sure if this refers to a rave or a burning field used for pagan rituals, either way it is a most intriguing concept and the song itself is dark and yet still memorable.
Time To Leave is about a man who has delusions and believes that he will be taken from the world by a Celestial being, he think she is coming for himn2hilst everyone else thinks he is crazy, this song has a very repetitive riff that works very well in creating an ethereal atmosphere. Interlude which follows represents the journey the character takes with his Celestial lover.
It is a brief instrumental track with lots of keyboard’s soundscapes.
Shelter that follows is another interesting track which talks about a family who are forced to live into an Air Raid Shelter, the song is from the view of a parent who seeks to keep it together for the family, this theme is also a metaphor for mental health issues, it is a very poignant track especially 8n the light of what is happening in Ukraine under Russian bombardment, this is a very sparse and emotionally laden track with a minimal background which allows you to concentrate on the words of the song.
Last Light concerns itself with a group of people responding t9 a major cataclysmic event that has accepted their fate but still are defiant and choose to join together in celebration, thus choosing togetherness over anger towards something out of their control, this is a positive song.
Penultimate song is Dystopia in which the world has descended into chaos, With society crumbling around them a couple or in contention about whether they should remain or escape, one wants to stay and the other to escape.
Final song of the album is Collisions is about an impending comet striking the earth and how it feels about the situation, pretty unusual subject matter really. I have to say Ed’s voice is simply spectacular, he sounds fantastic his best performance of the album, the accompanying music is equally as spacious in tone with “space” in the sound the mirrors the sentiments of the song.
Whilst musically this album may be a fairly similar style without much differential in the sounds the thing to concentrate on is really the words and emotions that the sings are seeking to convey, you can see that Neon Fields have but significant degree of attention to these lyrics and the emotions these words underlay.
This makes this a richly emotional album that certainly paves the way for this impressive new group to prosper and make their mark, whilst not wildly progressive musically it certainly is lyrically which makes it a recommended listen.
Info here: www.neonfields.bandcamp.com
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