Those familiar with the Brooklyn dream pop band Field Mouse and their intense, guitar-driven wall of sound might wonder how exactly they could play an un-amplified acoustic session in somebody’s backyard. Fortunately for those of us attending this Backyard Brunch Session, the only thing consistent about this installment in the series was the food.
A fully-amped combo of lead guitarist Andrew Futral and vocalist/guitarist Rachel Browne arrived at an apartment on Grand Street in Williamsburg with a guest drummer in tow and their full complement of amps. Other than the absence of bassist Saysha Heinzman, this was going to be an almost full-strength Field Mouse show. And thanks to a scheduling conflict, that wall of sound was going to be ricocheting off the walls of a medium-sized living room. Thankfully our hosts have cool neighbors, because this was not a quiet Saturday afternoon.
Since I first caught the band at Northside Festival last year, their confidence and songwriting have only gotten stronger. After releasing a series of singles, the group is laying down tracks for an album that we expect to see hit the streets next year. Several of the songs played at this session should make their first appearances on it, including the outstanding new track “Asteroid” which is streaming below. While this less-than-full complement of players doesn’t quite give you the full Field Mouse experience, it gives as close of an idea as is possible in a small room in a residential area. Besides their ability to write addictive, hook-laden songs, their trademark sense of humor was on display as well. This is one recording where I don’t advise skipping the “banter” tracks.
I recorded this set with a mid-side combination of Schoeps microphones in the center of the room, with my MBHO cardiods serving as both the vocal mic and miking the vocal PA. I have attempted to give a realistic representation of how the band sounded in the room, while trying to capture the power the band has in a larger setting. I hope you enjoy it!
Field Mouse is playing Cameo Gallery on November 23 and Piano’s on December 18. Check out their live shows.
Stream “Asteroid”
Download the complete show: [MP3] | [FLAC]
Note: All of the material on this site is offered with artist permission, free to fans, at our expense. The only thing we ask is that you download the material directly from this site, rather than re-posting the direct links or the files on other sites without our permission. Please respect our request.
[Photo by acidjack. That’s not actually the right running order]
Field Mouse
2013-10-26
Backyard Brunch Sessions
Brooklyn, NY USA
Exclusive download hosted at nyctaper.com
Recorded and produced by acidjack
Schoeps MK5 (cardiod)+Schoeps MK8 (M-S) + MBHO KA200N>MBP603>Edirol R-44 [OCM]>2x24bit/48kHz WAV>Voxengo MSED (decode M-S)>Adobe Audition CS 5.5 (various effects and mixdown)>Izotope Ozone 5 (EQ, effects)>Audacity 2.03 (fades, tracking, compression, amplify, balance, downsample, dither)>FLAC ( level 8 )
Tracks
01 [intro]
02 You Guys Are Gonna Wake Up My Mom
03 [banter]
04 Tomorrow Is Yesterday
05 [banter2]
06 Asteroid
07 Plate Tectonics
08 [banter3]
09 Everyone But You
10 [banter4]
11 Water In the Valley
If you enjoyed this recording, PLEASE SUPPORT Field Mouse, visit their website, and purchase their official releases from the links on their bandcamp page or on iTunes.
Wonderful band, thanks!
This sound recording is tight.
Made my day big time. Support artists!!!!!