A scalar field is something that associates a real number with every point in space. That’s what Professor Wikipedia says, and to avoid tumbling down the rabbit hole that is hard mathematics and physics we’ll leave it there. So what is the correlation between the algebra mumbo jumbo and Bendigo band Scalar Fields? It would be the band’s ability to reach every point on the rock spectrum.
Bendigo’s Scalar Fields shine with promise on their new single Lamp Lights. With many dynamic elements the boys are close to perfecting their craft.
Perhaps not every point, you don’t exactly see this four piece dipping their toes into the doom metal pond, but they do a pretty decent job of ticking all the alternate rock boxes and making the sound their own without having too broad a sound. It in 2011 began when high school chums Davis and Alex decided to start collaborating together. Soon mutual friend Will joined the party, and rounding out the lineup was Nick on drums, who according to the band was a random they met at the pub.
The lads have spent that time slowly building their craft and in that time have built up some solid rock tunes. They’re not exactly reinventing the wheel, and that is not what is expected of them. The beast that is rock music has reached a point where innovation seems farfetched, so rather than try create something new out Scalar Fields pump out a mix of what has come before them. Now that sounds like a criticism and it is. I grew up on bands like this during the mid 2000s, and there is a certain nostalgia these sounds evoke. There are those crisp guitars, floaty synths and scattering hi-hats. The vocals are calm and reassuring as they breeze over you. The band do it well but you’re left wanting for a bit more. They have the chops, but playing it safe for now.
Their latest single Lamp Lights shows a hint of the step forward Scalar Fields need to take. It’s more synthy than their debut Seymour’s Close, the more spacious atmosphere playing well with Davis’ smooth vocals. The guitars creep around, wrapping themselves around the vocal melody like a creeping vine. There’s a certain poetic flow to the lyrics, yet they become hindered by the basic verse/ verse/ chours/ verse/ bridge/ chorus format that so many alternative rock songs follow. If the band let this format go and adopted more of free flowing songwriting structure their individual dynamics will really meld together to create something truly dynamic.
What Scalar Fields have already shown their potential for growth comparing these two tracks, and hopefully their debut release Pyramids which is floating on the horizon can deliver on that promise. Don’t get me wrong, Lamp Lights is a fun, boppy alternative rock song that is more than capable of standing on its own to feet. What excites me is the possibilities Scalar Fields have in front of them, and what they do moving forward will no doubt impress.
