My Album Of The Week for the week of April 21st-27th, 2014:
Oaks - Field Beat
01. All Mine
02. Dreaming Arrows
03. Field Beat
04. Clouds
05. Falls
06. Some Of Them Do
I'll be honest, I know pretty much nothing about Oaks. I took a walk down to Extreme Noise last week to film a bit with Ryan for Newest Industry (a bit that was, sadly, lost when my memory card became full halfway through). As I've mentioned before, I have a real weakness for checking out the "Local" section anytime I'm in a record store. On a whim I picked up Field Beat because it was described as "shoegaze" and because it was only 6 songs long which, let's be honest, is the perfect length for a shoegaze record.
Thanks to the internet I've learned that Oaks consists of husband & wife duo Jim Kolles & Erica Krumm. You may know Krumm as the lead singer/guitarist for the band Sharp Teeth or, if you're like me, you may not.
Field Beat is, I suppose, a shoegaze album. There's loud, buzzsaw guitars that come in waves. There's heavy basslines. There's a drum machine. All the "shoegaze" boxes are checked off. Fortunately, Krumm's vocals elevate the whole record, coming through clear and with a minimum of effects. If you subtracted a bit of the punk edge from BNLX or the electronics from Wiping Out Thousands you'd have Oaks. The songs here are thorough, heavy, and consistently excellent (with the exception of "Some Of Them Do," which is just feedback). Field Beat is just the kind of record I hope to find when I go plunging into the "Local" section.
If you're so inclined, Field Beat is available as a "Name Your Price" download over at Oaks Bandcamp page. I strongly suggest that you be inclined.
