Review Summary: Underground Australian folk is the epitome of 'awkward'. Unfortunately does not live up the hype.
Just starting to make a name for himself with community radio support in his native Australia is Melbourne-based singer/songwriter, Giles Field. His debut, released independently, is ‘Too Many Love Songs’ produced by respected producer Tim Oxley (Roger Loves Betty) who has helped Giles to polish his bedroom recordings from their acoustic origins to a full-band sound. Apparently more than a little inspired by fellow Aussie Darren Hanlon, Giles attempts the same jaunty light-hearted folk style with a lyrical bent. But that’s where the comparisons should end. While Hanlon captures the mood perfectly with his witty turns of phrase, Field prefers to take the clumsy route, bearing all in a series of embarrassing evacuations.
Opening with ‘Awkward’ the character that Giles presents us, and predictably always in the first person, is just that, an awkward, uncomfortable guy to listen to. He even tries to deflect criticism by stating ‘I’ve never been much of a musician / But you don’t mind my simple chords’. And that is really the problem, the whole thing feels very, well… amateurish. From the same roughly strummed guitar chords to Field’s obvious singing deficiencies as highlighted on tracks like ‘Detail’ and the inane ‘Baby’. While I am one that believes that a unique vocal delivery can be an asset, the vocals on here have to be heard to be believed; a deeply annoying thicker-than-Vegemite thick accent sung off-key, complete with Hank Williams style voice breaks. There is something to be said for Autotune, perhaps?
There is potential however. Oxley’s production does serve the songs well on the two standout tracks, the mournful ‘Beautiful Pain’ and the mildly amusing ‘23’. One can only imagine what a more accomplished performer may have done with this material. Unfortunately the effect is ruined by the ridiculous semi-spoken word piece ‘Supermarket Town’ where Field narrates his trip to the shops ‘past the meat section, even though I’m a vegetarian’. From there the album descends into farce, the final track ‘Looking For A Girl Like You’ containing possibly the worst vocal performance found on the iTunes Music Store to date.
Some may argue that Giles’ awkward, child-like naivety and clumsy vocal handling are what lifts this from the mundane, but I think most listeners will find it just plain bad. Believe me, there are some great undiscovered Antipodean gems to be found, but this is not one of them. Don’t believe the hype, this is unfortunately one of one of the worst listening experiences I’ve had this year. Avoid.
