Week That Was - Week That Was
by Mark Rowland
published: 9 / 10 / 2008

Label:
Memphis Industries
Format: CD
intro
Incredibly strong debut album from the Week That Was, the side project of Field Music's Peter Brewis, which moves firmly into Genesis territory
The tom-heavy intro to opener 'Learn to Learn' takes The Week That Was, the latest project of Field Music's Peter Brewis, firmly into Genesis territory. It turns out that this is a really good thing, as the eight, dense, complex songs on their self-titled first album are incredibly strong and, thankfully, not too long. 'The Good Life' also starts with a thumping drum intro, before the verse kicks in. The track jerks forward, driven by the bassline, while piano and synths add stabbing chords that appear sporadically. The chorus is suitably big, bringing everything together. The jerking rhythms are a constant on the album, from the string-augmented 'The Story Waits for No-one' to the lurching stutter of a beat that propels 'The Airport Line' to its sweeping chorus. The rolling, tom-led drums are almost a constant throughout, but are put to one side for the erratically bouncing synth and xylophone-based 'It's All Gone Quiet', which comes across like one of the more interesting ballads of the early 80's. The drums are also noticably absent for most of 'Come Home', which features the kind of melody and piano playing present on Paul McCartney's best work in the late 60's, albeit with a fairly Prog rock arrangement. At the album's centre is the epic 'Yesterday's Paper', which clocks in at just over seven minutes. The track shifts between dramatic piano and guitar parts, with some synths and strings in between. It's over the top, like the rest of the album, but Brewis is a good enough song writer to pull it off.
Track Listing:-
1 Learn To Learn2 The Good Life
3 The Story Waits For No One
4 It's All Gone Quiet
5 The Airport Line
6 Yesterday's Paper
7 Come Home
8 Scratch The Surface
Label Links:-
http://www.memphis-industries.com/https://www.facebook.com/memphisindustries
https://twitter.com/memphisind
https://www.youtube.com/user/mattmemphis
https://plus.google.com/+memphisindustries
most viewed articles
current edition
Pennyblackmusic - Writers and Photographers' Albums of the Year 2024Peter Perrett - In Dreams Begin Responsibilities Interview Part One
Man From Delmonte - Interview
Clive Langer - Interview
Pennyblackmusic - Book of the Year Award 2024
Johnnie Johnstone - Interview
Marianne Faithfull - Reflections
Laura Nyro - Profile
Johny Brown - Corpse Flower
Vinyl Stories - Vinyl 2024
most viewed reviews
current edition
Dorie Jackson - Stupid Says RunRingo Starr - Look Up
Beabadoobee - This is How The World Moves
Pixie Lott - Encino
Unthanks - In Winter
Dusty Springfield - The BBC Sessions
Joan Armatrading - How Did This Happen and What Does It Mean?
Rosie Lowe - Lover, Other
Oïmiakon - Comptoir Des Vanites
Emily Burns - Die Happy
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart