Fieldhead - Engine Idling, Around 5am (2022)

Fieldhead's latest release is a dynamic, contemplative work fusing sharp-edged electronics with well-worn acoustic instrumentation, providing a soundtrack to the occasional moments of escapism found on dimly lit city streets.

The tensely-wound synths of Elam's previous works punctuate the album, and on 'Spain' and 'She Came Round, Advised' they carry the listener through the peaks of a 2am emotional release and the crashes of 5.30am sleepless anxieties. Manipulated piano and violin move to take a central role, tempering the urgency of the over-caffeinated electronics with a sense of contemplation and quiet, spacious hope. The merging of these two approaches absorbs and envelops the listener, and on closer 'Going to be Able' guides them to wide skies far above the city in which it was written.

'Engine Idling, Around 5am' is the sound of trying to make sense of where we live, and to take a cautiously optimistic eye to the future. It's an intentionally emotional and concise work, concentrating on what matters most.

RIYL: Clark, Grand River, Shida Shahabi, Caterina Barbeiri, Claire M Singer.