David Brewis
The Soft Struggles
Daylight Saving Records
24 February 2023
If you know David Brewis primarily for his music with brother Peter in Field Music, you may not be prepared for the pastoral delight on offer with ‘The Soft Struggles.’ Field Music are often associated with progressive music, creating albums in which time signatures, lengthy explorations on a theme and sudden sonic shifts in production are almost obligatory. I have a love for that kind of music myself, but invariably find the bands I enjoy the most also pull an occasional killer melody or pop hook out of the bag, something which definitely applies to Field Music. Still, previous form only hints at a musical dexterity enabling a bold left-turn type of solo project such as this. When David says that ahead of the album, he was thinking about Van Morrison’s ‘Astral Weeks’ or Colin Blunstone’s ‘One Year’ you have to applaud his high ambition but do be aware, the idea was merely to draw inspiration from the method, not photocopy a classic. That method was to gather a group of musicians together in a recording situation, not plan too far beyond a chord sheet and tempo discussion, and then, in the great folk jamming tradition, just let it happen and see what magic can be conjured.
Considering David’s own inspirational touchstones, my first impression was ironically to also think about one of the all-time greats. The sounds of Nick Drake are undeniable to these ears, particularly in the way that the music has such grace and elegance, not to mention the sense of the English countryside this type of sound ignites. The way so much of the music has been bound by some delightful string arrangement cannot be ignored either, a massive element to the second Nick Drake record especially. Then there is the melancholy and self-analysis the music appears to have prompted. ‘It Takes A Long Time’ is all about the time that can be eaten up with hesitancy and over-deliberation (clearly not a concern with this actual recording), whilst ’Start Over’ has to self-inspire against the onset of fatigue, frustration and self-doubt. There are a brace of tunes too that react from the point of view of a parent, David clearly talking about his own children on ‘Keeping Up With Jessica’ (wonderfully celebrating the boundless imagination of his daughter) and ‘The King Of Growing Up’ which acknowledges similarities shared with his son.
‘Can We Put It In The Diary?’ opens proceedings, instantly laying out an over-arching attitude. Let us not plan too much, no overfilling with immediate commitments; let us just take our time on this and find out where it takes us. Peter Brewis is there, softly stroking the percussion, refraining from giving it anything remotely resembling a whack; it is surely how the Field Music project has matured over the years that facilitates such a lush execution of this project. A danger with musicians without a real history in jamming can be a lean towards repetitiveness, but here it is instantly apparent that Brewis has a plentiful supply of varied options in his arsenal for musical excursions, so the album never declines. Having an abundance of guest players at his disposal helps too; there are no less than eleven collaborators highlighted on the front cover alone; it is creditable how David has tapped into their full potential so effectively. He even outsources a lead vocal on ‘When You First Meet,’ sung with stunning understated poise by Sunderland singer-songwriter Eve Cole, apparently because he felt he had composed a piece “in a key that my voice could not follow.” If the pre-release chat out of the Brewis camp is to be believed, they picture this release as standing separate from the Field Music world. Things can change though, often when a work intended as a side project stands as proud as ‘The Soft Struggles’, an album emphatically worth spending some time with, you find it ends up part of the main catalogue rather than a side note. I sense this could easily be the former, a case of modest ambition and talent converging so well.
preorder here https://lnk.to/TheSoftStruggles
Live dates – David Brewis and Orchestra present The Soft Struggles
5th May – Howard Assembly Room, Leeds
6th May – The Customs House, South Shields
3rd June – Kings Place, London