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New Music Friday: Sun And The Sound Of Life With Field Report

By Michael Cerio

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Today marks the third release from the band Field Report with their new album Summertime Songs.

Always a noted lyricist from the band's folk beginnings, Summertime Songs finds singer songwriter Chris Porterfield under the influence of pop and under the weight of some heavy life events.

The birth of his first daughter, the dissolving of relationships around him, and the tense ever-present noise of the 2016 election all figured into Field Report's latest release. While the sound is decidedly sunnier, the subject is a bit more complicated.

"Records are like real life in a lot of ways. Everybody's got stuff going on, and it's kind of pulling their attention in different places, in different areas. There's only so much you can focus on in one given moment" explains Porterfield of the album.

"This record was built in front of the turmoil of the election campaign, being real nervous about having a daughter" he says. "You want to be angry, and you almost want to blow it up. But now you've got more skin in the game for another generation. So you want to take care of it and make it better."

"And then also another big theme on this record is breakups" says Porterfield. "It wasn't me and my relationship, but several people close to me were going through divorces or breakups or whatever - and that sort of became a complimentary narrative to a lot of the political stuff going on. It's just like, are we breaking up right now? Is this the end of something? Do we believe in this enough to try to keep doing this?"

"There's a lot of general human pain and angst on this record, but it's not all necessarily mine."

Field Report
Field Report | Credit: Chris And Katie Robleski

Field Report has been making music for a few years, but the buzz around their latest release and a spotlight at this year's SXSW has invited a lot more people along for the ride.

"We've got people who have been with us on this journey since the beginning, five or six years, but there's a lot bigger subset of the world that has no idea who we are" he says. "If it takes sort of a get to know you lap every time we put out new music that's fine. Whatever gets people under the tent is a-ok."

This sun-stained set of Pop Americana is available today. The band heads out on tour next week with a stop in Philadelphia at Milkboy on Thursday April 5th.

To hear more from Chris Porterfield of Field Report, listen to the full interview above or click here.

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