Eisenhower Field Day
Posted by: admin in CD Reviews, tags: Eisenhower Field Day, mod revival, New Wave, Squeeze, The Jam, XEisenhower Field Day
Tyrants and Spies
reviewed by Gary Levinson
Is Eisenhower Field Day a Cold War leftover, or a fresh shot of post-rock music? My very first impression when listening to their CD Tyrants and Spies was that it sounded like an an English mod revival band like The Jam or an English New Wave band like Squeeze.
After listening some more, I decided that what they really sounded like is Los Angeles club music from the early 1980s, akin to the L.A. punk rock band X. They have a electrified sound, that is all the same melodic with the group’s blended vocals.
Eisenhower Field Day’s music is harmonious (with their blended vocals), raucous (with Holly Butler belting out the lyrics), tuneful (ie. “Sit Down and Wait”), thought-provoking (check out the lyrics to “Lighthouse”) and decadent (ie. “Pardon my Strangeness”) all at the same time. Their production – done by the band itself – is refined and sophisticated.
The subject matter of the songs is all Cold War stuff - or are the emotions and situations talked about in the songs really a reflection of the global tensions today? Naturally, their lyrics have a certain timelessness that allows the songs to fit both. Their music makes a perfect background to the under-siege mentality that we all have to live with today.
If you’ve wondered where Rock can go now that everything has been done, Eisenhower Field Day provides a long awaited uplifting, hopeful answer. Eisenhower Field Day is the real new-wave music; what New Wave music should have always been.
Reviewed by Gary Levinson
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