Artists

Routine MySpace acquaintance checks and googling of the words ‘Peter’, ‘Brewis’, ‘mackem’ and ‘side-project’ have been part of the daily Ragged Words grind ever since David Brewis told us that his brother’s debut was in the can. Thankfully, exactly six months prior to the release of his debut, Peter introduced The Week That Was (presumable so called after the David Frost-fronted satirical show of the 60’s) to the social networking world. The single snippet available - the lusciously melodic ‘The Airport Line’ – indicates that life post-Field Music will continue to be supremely rewarding.
The first taster also hints of marked differences from anything on School of Language’s Sea From Shore. Unsurprisingly, given the track’s sweeping orchestration, there are a cast of thousands (or 12 to be exact, including both fellow Field Music alumni) credited as contributors. And while Sea From Shore pushed Field Music’s challenging melodies to greater extremes, The Week That Was initially appears to maintain the former band’s classically rich and dreamy harmonies. But enough comparisons, we’re just glad to have more Brewis for our buck.
Each track on August’s debut, according to a Memphis Industries press release, “is rumoured to reference a number of motifs from various 80s classics”, with three allegedly lurking in ‘The Airport Line’s’ glorious three minutes and 56 seconds. Maybe it’s just our Brit Pop upbringing, but we’re stumped. Or maybe we’d be gulla-bulls to keep searching. A previous conversation with the label also suggested the album was a concept of sorts, focusing around a period where Brewis cut himself away from TV… Either way, such rumours and the brief introduction make The Week That Was another intriguing Wearside proposition. Over to you then Andy Moore.