James Milne – professionally known as Lawrence Arabia – has the dubious pleasure of being the first live music I saw in 2010. The Christmas hiatus was somewhat painful to bear and made doubly worse by a horrific bout of flu. I got kinda itchy waiting for the gig calendar to being again and the two or so weeks without it felt just wrong.
Anyway, onto an icy, cold and inhospitable evening in East London late last week and Field Music’s long awaited London return at Hoxton Bar and Kitchen. Supporting them, Lawrence Arabia and his band spun off a tight and impressive little set while their UK record label head and general King Midas of real music Simon Raymonde (he of ex-Cocteau Twins) stood amongst the crowd with a satisfied and proud look on his face, like a footballer’s dad.
Chant Darling, the new album, is out now on Raymonde’s Bella Union and sounds like John Lennon and Jeff Lynne fronting the Beta Band. It’s a weird and difficult sound to negotiate at first (and it’s arguably more accessible live) but three or four listens in and I’m hooked and already looking forward to seeing them play again.
