When the members of the U.K. indie band Field Music splintered off on

their own creative pursuits last year, bells rang in the hallways of

David Brewis’ head and School of Language was in session. What

Brewis—the first from Field Music’s wing to release new material—came

out with from within those vacant classrooms is Sea to Shore, vaguely an extension of Field Music’s lauded Tones of Town that deserves as

much, if not more, praise. For an album recorded in solitude, with

only a laptop and a roomful of gear, the words speak as loudly as the

actions—drums, jazz guitars, keyboards, and looping vocal cutups are

intricately woven together over tender harmonies that expose a

mishmash of emotions. As abstract as it can be at times, School of

Language is sincere pop music—the kind that doesn’t force itself on

you and can always be trusted. With Hanne Hukkelberg and Half Acre

Day. TRAVIS RITTER

Wed., March 19, 8 p.m., 2008