Review: Field Medic Releases Introspective 'light is gone 2'
Credit : Jason Lin
While fans have become lovingly comfortable with Field Medic's approach to his sound with his primarily “indie-twang”-centered discography, it appears that that the time was right for a genre change entirely for Los Angeles based Kevin Sullivan. With the release of his 6th studio project, light is gone 2, the successor to 32-year-old Sullivan's debut album light is gone, Sullivan has brought fans into a new realm of sonic exploration.
Fans got a taste for the release of the album when it was announced alongside the lead single "everything's been going so well” this past June (find HVNLY's coverage on the single and announcement HERE). The single gave fans a taste of the new-found balance between electric-trap elements and his traditional "Field Medic" sound. He introduced an abundance of sonic changes that may even be outside of fan’s comfort zone.
Regardless of this change, Sullivan isn’t shying away from giving fans a completely new Field Medic listening experience. He spoke about that transition, stating "I started recording some of these songs at the same time as the last record (grow your hair long if you're wanting to see something that you can change)… I was feeling a bit bored of making folk music and was listening to a lot of Trap music, and it inspired me to experiment more with digital recording and different kinds of production." He began breaking apart his songs, keeping the hooks and diary-like lyricism but replacing the folkier elements with 808s and synths. "At the time, I felt like I didn't really have the skills to make the songs sound the way I wanted them to, so I set them aside," Sullivan says. "But then this past year, I spent more time working on my side project, paper rose haiku, and learning more about production. I started to dive back into the songs, just trying to use new sounds that I wouldn't normally use, intentionally trying to make them not like acoustic folk songs." With Sullivan's willingness to try just about anything, it's easy to see how fans can consistently be kept on the edge of their seats. Throughout this new record he did just that.
The album opens with the song "they all seem so happy", an acoustic-leading single paired with Sullivan's masterful use of autotune. After the opening lyrics, listeners become introduced to the electric elements that pursue the rest of the record. Containing catchy beats and even catchier lyrics about feeling lost in a world where everyone seems to be thriving. That theme is so painfully universal when you put the perspective on the lyrics;
"it's a black & white film strip
every night delirious searching for the purpose
cuz no one seems to be around me
all alone or when i'm surrounded"
It can become so easy to feel overwhelmed or left behind when everyone else is moving on and you’re just staying the same. Although this song addresses those feelings it doesn't offer a necessarily encouraging outlook on life. Sometimes it’s important to call out a struggle for what it is in order to truly grow from it.
From there on out, listeners are launched head-first into the quasi-trap ballads Sullivan has compiled. Listeners jump through "TSION," the sequential sequel of "they all seem so happy," then we speed through the following tracks in what feels like an energetic sprint through the cosmos. Listeners get hit by the acoustic-electric blend that Sullivan has continued throughout the record on "you deserve attention." Next up, we land on the lead single of the record, "everything's been going so well" which returns back into the pumped-up, fully-electric portion of the album. Ears will perk up as the midpoint of the record arrives with a particular song that resonated quite specially.
The true standout moment on the album is "without you I'd have nothing (and i might even be dead)". This song takes listeners on the most otherworldly experience. The beginning of the record shares a similar pseudo-trap sound which would lead fans to expect the same from this song. That expectation was thrown out the window with the opening chords of a banjo. What seems to be a musical turning point for the record. This song immediately gets you pumped up and ready to push into the rest of the record (even the parts that tend to lean more on the sad side). Out of all the songs on the project, "without you I'd have nothing (and i might even be dead)" is the most head-banging inspiring song on the record (if you could even call it that). Lyrically, it is a song about the most straightforward part of the human experience- being so in love with someone that life without them seems so bleak- almost like you might even be dead otherwise. The song seamlessly fuses electric elements with stringed instruments to create on of the most unique and fresh melodies of recent memory.
As the second half of the record progresses things begin to mellow out. Continuing with the pleasing-to-the-ear electric-acoustic themes throughout, Sullivan takes a turn back to his vocal roots having been stripped from the autotune that was prominent throughout the rest of the record (not for long though, as "mass market paperback" takes fans into a fully electric sound ramped up by a surplus of autotune). “mass market paperback” is the most unique to Field Medic's sound as it entirely changes every element of Sullivan’s sound. Whereas the rest of the record has kept at least one element true to Sullivan's sound. This isn't a bad thing per-say, the track is simply a new chapter that looks good within Field Medic's discography.
Listeners then transition into "iwantthis2last" which can best be described as a fuzzy indie-folk song, one in which is better listened to than explained. The record closes with "empty arms,” which dubbs an entirely piano-focused intro that adds subtle additional instrumentals and stripped-back vocals, all of which work together to close out the emotional rollercoaster that fans have had the pleasure of riding on throughout light is gone 2.
Lyrically, the record stays pretty true to Field Medic's typical lyricism, with tales of anxiety, fear, and love (both the upsides and downsides) all of which feels like listening to his thoughts from a day-to-day basis. These continuous lyrical themes give listeners an emotional totem pole to cling onto as the record ebbs and flows into new territories in his exploration of new styles and sounds.
In celebration of the record's release, Field Medic is preparing to embark on a US tour supported by Orlando-based artist Olivia Barton which is certain to be a tour not to be missed!
Upcoming Shows:
9/12 - San Francisco, CA at The Independent *
9/15 - Vancouver, BC at Fox Cabaret *
9/17 - Seattle, WA at Neumos *
9/18 - Portland, OR at Aladdin Theater *
9/21 - Denver, CO at Marquis Theater *
9/23 - St. Paul, MN at Amsterdam Bar & Grill *
9/24 - Madison, WI at High Noon Saloon *
9/25 - Chicago, IL at Lincoln Hall *
9/27 - Hamtramck, MI at The Sanctuary *
9/28 - Lakewood, OH at Mahall’s *
9/29 - Pittsburgh, PA at Bottlerocket *
9/30 - Philadelphia, PA at First Unitarian Church *
10/2 - New York, NY at Bowery Ballroom *
10/3 - Cambridge, MA at The Sinclair *
10/5 - Washington, DC at The Atlantis *
10/6 - Durham, NC at Motorco Music Hall *
10/7 - Atlanta, GA at The Masquerade *
10/9 - Austin, TX at Parish *
10/10 - Fort Worth, TX at Tulips *
10/12 - Phoenix, AZ at Rebel Lounge
10/13 - San Diego, CA at Quartyard
10/19 - Los Angeles, CA at Teragram Ballroom *
w/ Olivia Barton
