Uncle Fritz - Field Reports

Uncle Fritz then, a man with a breakfast-sized bowl of rage in one hand and a contract in his other, with the deeds to your soul written in blood. Armed with an acoustic guitar and infectious melodies, he pummels you with both fists until you submit to the wonders of ‘Field Reports’.
But with that, I’m barely scratching the outer skin of ten songs which make up the second set of recordings to surface from your favourite father’s brother, the first being debut ‘9 Songs’.

If you’re familiar with that debut or have caught one of his many live outings in the area you’ll know this isn’t your typical solo act, in many respects. This of course isn’t a bad thing and there’s enough flirting with influences from the obvious Folk heavyweights to prevent leaving you completely out in the cold looking in.

The term ‘Field Reports’ isn’t merely a title, this really feels like a collection of observations and scribblings and ideas that have been floating around wistfully inside a brain captivated. It confronts ‘cheery’ subjects such as days in the life of a vampirical creature, disdain of fellow Dundonians and feelings of disillusion but this is all pulled off extremely well. Conjuring up fantastic and honest lyrics is no mean feat and this is nowhere better displayed than in opener ‘Volcanic’, detailing a desperate conflict with anger. Other notable highlights of the record include the wonderfully spiteful ‘If I Had Shotgun’, which you’d hope was slightly tongue in cheek and the desolate closer ‘Little Fish’… which is a truly intimate ending to the journey and possibly the most heartfelt moment on the record.

Musically you confront complex and original guitar picking, layered with a multitude of atmospheric sounds, which not only mark a clear progression in songwriting but also help the album flow beautifully from song to song. There’s a familiarity as the time passes but with enough distinction to stop it blending into a mush of beige blandness. In fact, black is the correct shade to describe this as, a darkness seeps throughout which may be off putting to a casual listener. This grounding paves the way for his unique vocal style to shine through and wickedly lullaby you, for it would not be folly to put this record on after a stressful day or evening and let it’s meandering take hold, such is the ambient quality the songs possess.

Essentially what you have here is an extremely personal album, I doubt two listeners will feel exactly the same way about it and I’m sure many still may not connect with it but if you like to spend a little time with your records and set about this journey in the right frame of mind, you’ll surely be recanting another name on your list of singer-songwriters and recommendations. Now, if only our nation would embrace more sensational and challenging talent such as this. There’s a sense we wouldn’t be knee-deep in the latest fad.

‘Field Reports’ is available on CD through petpiranha.com and available to download from your favourite online purveyor.