The Gathering Field
Lost in America
Atlantic

The Gathering Field's debut album Lost in America is destined for greatness.
 The soulful musicianship on the record produced by Dave Brown (Rusted Root)
makes it one of the best pure rock albums in the past year.  "Lost in
America"  is a soft, acoustic ballad about addiction and loneliness.  Its
light guitar strumming hides its painful message:   the character's peaceful
demeanor calms others but masks his dark, inner brooding.  Lost in America,
both the album and song, are about losing sight of one's one identity:  "A
waitress in Tennessee said he looked like Jesus, he silenced her raging sea,
then walked out the door ... if anyone asked him why ....he would not
know..."  It is one of the few songs that can make you cry on the first
listen.  If anyone asks why, you probably won't be able to explain.  Instead,
put Lost in America on the CD player and let the ballads speak for
themselves.  The Gathering Field is a folk-rock band in the serious - but
understated - tradition of Drivin' and Cryin' and Jackson Browne.  Lost in
America is what An Emotional Fish would sound like if they cut their teeth on
Southern rock and roll.  "Rhapsody in Blue," which is about a man losing a
piece of himself for each relationship that turns sour, is a touching song
expressing a universal frustration:  "You can hear the sound .. of your heart
breaking ... from the love she's taking from you ... the song it's making is
like a rhapsody in blue."  Lost in America is an landscape of regret and
insecurity painted in the broad strokes of an overcast and moody pallet, but
tinted by the colors of an undying hope.  Reading between the lines of Lost
in America reveals a band always anticipating a successful relationship.  The
possibilities of future happiness keep The Gathering Field from giving up and
Lost in America from descending into pitiful emotion.   The result is a
touching and straightforward record.   Let's hope we see more of this new and
inspiring band, hopefully on next year's HORDE tour!