Take a listen to Ypsilanti-based experimental rock band Fields of Industry and you might want it to play at your funeral.
"We have this one song that's older, it's called ‘No Relief'," said Joshua Barton, founder and frontman of the band. "And the lyrics are ‘No relief now till I'm dead.' I've been told by at least one good friend that they want it played at their funeral."
Perhaps a good choice, considering the five-member band's lyrics primarily come straight from the stress and anxiety in Barton's life.
"The songs are total paranoia but they don't sound that way," Barton said. "They are very low but have an upshot of spiritual redemption to them. It's just kind of like, ‘Man this sucks, but it might get better.'"
But the band's new album, Trouble House, is a departure of sorts from the sorrow-laden melodies of past work. It's a testament to a hidden side of Fields of Industry, an unchaining of rock and roll influence.
"Trouble House is still just as dark but it's more of an immersion in rock and roll," Barton said. "I got on a Rolling Stones binge, listening to Exile on Main Street. It merges well with the spacey, somber stuff that we had going on."
Fields of Industry
GENRE: Psychedelic, Experimental, Rock RIYL: Velvet Underground, Mazzy Star ALBUM: Trouble House PREVIOUS ALBUMS: Two Dogs, A Television (2008) Fields of Industry |
The unexpected result of the tune "Rock and Roll Lady" is one that has made a mark on Barton. Intended as an instrumental track, it wasn't until an unanticipated jam session helped it morph into something he didn't see coming.
"It was incidental to the people who happened to be there and what they played on the spot," he said. "I ended up writing words to it and it crystallized what the album means... a conceptual pursuit of rock and roll that you can't quite grasp because it's wrapped up in social capital and the scene."
Trouble House was recorded with the help of Brandon Wiard at Pretty Suite Recording in Ypsilanti. Wiard's knowledge of the band's previous work made the connection a good fit. He recommended additional instrumentation and artists to drop in and jam with Fields of Industry- making the result a hypnotizing melting pot of sounds.
Old fans that head to Mac's Bar for the Fields of Industry CD release show are in for a surprise.
"We have a full drum kit drummer now so people who saw us a few years ago might not expect it," said Guitarist Eric Gallippo. "It gets louder now because of that. They might say we used to sound like Galaxy 500 and now we sound like The Who."
