The Nields: If You Lived Here You'd Be Home Now

On recent albums, folk-rock band the Nields has been leaning rock-wards. Yet the band's latest, If You Lived Here You'd Be Home Now, represents a conscious decision to reassert its folk roots. "Keys to the Kingdom" is as traditional a folk tune as the Nields have ever written, the highlight of an album that exudes the easy optimism of traditional folk like none of their previous efforts. A lyric from "This Town is Wrong" sums things up best: "It's midnight, your light's on and I'm standing here in your yard/I sold my computer for a used acoustic guitar."

Well, the computer hasn't completely disappeared—the Nields haven't completely reverted to an acoustic sound—but listeners expecting another Gotta Get Over Greta or Play will be surprised at the experimentation with a folksier sound. And the adventurousness doesn't end there. The band crosses briefly into country, delivering a sparse, beautiful cover of the Hank Williams tune "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," and the album even includes a poem on the subject of the Barbie doll.

While the band's sound is innovative, the lyrics, unfortunately, are not. The Barbie poem, for instance, is a witless eye-roller, as are certain songs like "Jack the Giant Killer," and "Mr. Right Now." But at the band's best, the musicians' talent and Nerissa Nield's songwriting abilities shine. "Jeremy Newborn Street," the bouncy song that opens the album, has an infectious melody and witty, bashful lyrics. The melody of "One Hundred Names," a slow love song, is gorgeously tender. Just read the album's title to get an idea of what to expect: a town-sized scope, homelike warmth, total optimism. And when the optimism isn't corny, it's honest and wonderfully refreshing. (Zoë)

—John Chin

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