Field Music: Tones of Town

It's a marvelous thing when virtuosity and songcraft collide the way they do on Field Music's third disc, Tones of Town. The British trio's members seem joined at the hip (two of 'em are brothers) in their offbeat, twisted take on McCartney-influenced pop. At times, the immaculate Tones borders on overkill: rapid-fire catchiness clashing with devilishly creative rhythms and rogue melodic detours. Like Sufjan Stevens or XTC, the artistry and technique scores off the charts. Amazingly, the whole bloody mess hangs together like the best of modern-day hipster pop (the New Pornographers, the Shins, Apples in Stereo). If Field Music finally get the big break they deserve, plenty of sissy American bands are going to be left cowering in their knickerbockers.