Reviewed by Phil Thomson

Risks. Like it or not, to be truly creative, to communicate effectively, you have to take risks. This is an offering which takes any amount of them - and gets away with it: production/lyrics by editor Tony Cummings, who bravely bares the other side of his pen (try "Paradoxically" for a start); Terry Mills almost reinventing the Incredible String Band in order to wrap his music around copious choruses and raconteur verses. Pushing it a bit in this 30-second culture of ours. Yet with simple production values and understated performance, Nuffsed's heart-on-the-sleeve entreaty takes home-spun whimsy and global finger-pointing in its stride. In case you don't have CR16 to hand, Nuffsed are a pop-rock roots band from the Midlands who have in Terry Mills (vocals, acoustic guitar, mandola and composer) a major new find in terms of hook-laden material while the rest of the sprawling band (it's almost a co-operative, nine members... and counting) get the instrumental and vocal blend - keyboard player Adam Bird also sings a couple of leads - just right. Playing time is way above average (almost an hour of music) well known roots musicians like Jonathan Day, Neill Forrest, Mike Stanley, Phil Wright and Dave Fitzgerald all lend a hand here and there and standout songs like the poignant "Terra Firma"; the infectious folk stomper "Shining Through" and the epic, slow title track have already established a reputation with the group's fans. Perhaps, with a certain amount of objectivity and a big budget, this team will have the courage to try for a Renaissance or even a Runrig next CD. 'Fields Keep Calling' flies in the face of all those legions of slick technocrats and airheads and is all the better for it. The roots revolution continues to grow.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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