Mike Field
True Stories
(Independent)
4/5
Imagine if Miles Davis met Bad Religion in a bar and they then decided to mix a shot of world jazz with a side of Banner Pilot into their drinks and start singing. This sums up “Mechanic,” the first track on Canadian jazz trumpeter Mike Field’s fourth album, True Stories. That combination may sound a bit unpleasant in theory, but listening to it is energizing, and never predictable.
I wish more artists had the guts to write like this guy. Thanks to his original style, this album truly stands as its own; the tunes often feel like something written for a Quentin Tarantino film. It can almost be too much at times: my first impressions of “The Hotel by the Mansion” made me furrow my brow because of the intense genre mixing, but moments later I found myself cranking the volume and tapping my foot. It was fierce and had no barriers.
“Tu Vuo’ Fa’ L’Americano” is mostly pleasant, fast-paced reggae/jazz, while “Road Trip” returns listeners back to the punk realm.
The album loses steam a bit in the second half, but finds life again with “West Side of Town” and finishes thoughtfully with “Autumn Lovesong.”
Every song on this album is very different from the last, and I’m confident in saying that most people will love at least one song here. True Stories is a creative, diverse album that makes me smile every time I listen to it.