Measure

Those hyperactive Brewis brothers are tough to keep track of, turning out one album after another of tightly wound art-pop under ever-changing aliases, but their third full-length as mothership ensemble Field Music marks a step forward in their musical evolution. As ever, the Brewis boys reveal a passion for quirky art-pop of both the pre-punk (Todd Rundgren, Sparks) and post-punk (XTC) varieties, but while the band comes on as brainy as usual on Measure, there's a marked increase in the visceral quality of the tracks. At times the brothers' trademark odd time signatures are overlaid with crunchy-but-controlled riffs that suggest Wire playing the Led Zeppelin songbook, and several moments find the guitar licks tapping into a Badfinger-like power-pop vibe. More than anything, though, Measure seems inspired by that period in the early ‘80s when prog rockers tried to adapt to the times by trimming the sonic fat and making spare-but-sophisticated albums like Genesis' Abacab and King Crimson's Discipline. Certainly Phil Collins' full-frontal-thud drum sound has seldom seen as much of a revival as on the Brewises' recent work. There's no lack of vintage Queen-style vocal harmonies, either, but for all these hoary reference points, Measure sounds entirely of the present indie rock moment.