If there’s one record Milwaukee is holding its collective breath and stomping its feet in eager anticipation of hearing, it’s Marigolden, the 10-track follow-up to Field Report‘s stunning self-titled 2012 debut album. Since the band’s aggressive tour schedule has stopped entirely and the new material is waiting to formally see the light of day, bandleader Christopher Porterfield has kept busy by playing solo shows in front of massive chapel crowds, for small groups in renovated funeral homes, and as part of an entirely-improvised band named after a mythical Northwoods monster.
As captivating as those performances are, it’s great see songs from Marigolden slowly see the light of day. In July, “Wings” premiered on Stereogum (along with the cringe-inducing-but-actually-apt “digi-folk” tag). Not a month later, a second song from the forthcoming work, entitled “Home,” is being streamed on TIME magazine’s website. Again, the song pairs Porterfield’s earnest and evocative storytelling capability with loosely electronic-sounding backing. It’s markedly different than its acoustic version, but no less enjoyable. Hopefully “Home ” isn’t the last breadcrumb Field Report tosses to tide us all over on the path to early October.