After an eight year wait, Toronto singer/songwriter David McFarlane has released his sophomore album Fieldwork. The eleven tracks are engaging folkrock, with plenty of fuzz, nice arrangements and some towering harmonies. The production has a bit of a lofi feel, which at times comes across as overly harsh. There's plenty of dynamic variety and the whole album works, though with such a long span between releases, one would expect something truly great, which this album is not. The biggest question then becomes, is this artist credible given the eight years between albums. This would be an overly long hiatus for an established artist, but for an indie artist with only one previous release, it calls into question whether one should invest in engaging with the artist if no new music will be forthcoming in a timely manner. We appreciate any artist's need to see their musical vision realized, but with the sheer amount of artists struggling to be heard, one must question whether the music press should devote any of its limited space to an artist with such a gap in releases. Stream and buy Fieldwork at the link below.
