Field Mouse
Episodic
(Topshelf Records)

If Weezer were fronted by Blonde Redhead’s Kazu Makino, the resulting band might sound like Field Mouse. Episodic is a breezy, brief record filled with sunny guitar rock, assertive lyrics, and enough catchy hooks to send you longing for the glory days of ’90s indie. Rachel Browne’s vocals are so smooth that it’s almost difficult to register any anger in her words, such as in the opening of “Mirror” when she sings, “What a way to say fuck off.” In “Half-Life,” “I’ve lived more lives than you” sounds like a statement of common sense rather than a boast about maturity. Later on in the record, “Beacon” is an anthem for empowerment (“today was different because I made it so”). Each song on Episodic is punchy, short, and sweet. Nothing dares get close to the four-minute mark. The band gets the point across and moves on to the next song, and in the end, they’ve left me wanting more.