In 2005, the city of Sunderland was firmly put on the map as a leading contributor of indie rock talent. In a year where Maximo Park and The Futureheads received critical as well as commercial rewards, somewhere lurking behind them were Field Music. In keeping with the close-knit community, they boasted a drummer on loan from Maximo Park whereas Peter Brewis was originally the drummer for The Futureheads. So the smart money would say they're another group of post-punk fans with a North East accent, comprised of rejects from their mates' bands. Field Music, however, buck the trend in more ways than one.

Peter and his brother David form the songwriting team who count The Neptunes, Stravinsky and Big Star amongst their influences which either implies they will be weighed down by too many ideas or be inspired to write some downright catchy tunes. The first thing to be noted about their album is that these songs are a throwback to the old-fashioned pop single: short (ingeniously their briefest effort is named 'Shorter Shorter'), melodic and as addictive as hell. Then there's the brothers' harmonies which have been compared to The Beach Boys although perhaps their nearest soundalikes are one of the 1970's most prolific singles' act, 10CC and this is evident on their cleverly arranged, romance-fuelled tunes ('Like When You Meet Someone Else', 'Love Is A Fine Thing' and 'It's Not The Only Way To Feel Happy'). Meanwhile '17' and 'Got To Write A Letter' hark back to the days of infectious new wave singles. Ultimately, with no makeweights on the whole record, this is a perfect sunshine pop album with a distinctively English sound.