OUR MAN IN THE FIELD : THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS

OUR MAN IN THE FIELD : THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS

Thin (I Used To Be Bullet Proof)
I'll Be Gone
Eleanor's Song
Easy Going Smile
It Is What It Is
Swansong (Don't Play With Matches)
It Was Ever So
Stick Around
Pockets
Don't Speak
I Like You So I'll Kill You Last

Label : Rocksnob

Release Date : September 25, 2020 / June 6, 2025 (remix deluxe)

Length : 45:36

Review (Bandcamp) : Our Man In The Field release their debut album "The Company Of Strangers" on the 25th September 2020 via Rocksnob. Think of Our Man In The Field – AKA Alexander Ellis – as an independent correspondent, with his works dispatches from his travels: “I wrote these songs over a long period and initially performed them solo across London after encouragement from my old acting friend Phil Brodie. From back rooms and basements to noisy bars and terraces - wherever the singer songwriter and folk scenes would have me. It wasn’t always successful, people didn’t always listen, but I learned a lot about the songs; how to play them, how to sing them and what the words really mean. There were enough special nights where I’d stumble by chance upon just the right audience on just the right night to keep me going. I used to think all the songs themselves were about other people and that allowed me to write freely. Although that is still the case, some are even named after the person the song is about, I realised a while ago that there is always two people in the story and the other person is always me. I guess the songs are a lot closer to home than I would once admit but I’m at ease with that now. More than ever people want something true, something authentic, so I’m trying to write and sing as honestly as possible. A fortunate meeting at one of my favourite back room gigs “The Lantern Society” at The Betsey Trotwood in Farringdon, lead to the beginning of work with bass player Tom Rosenfeld we soon added Henry Senior on pedal steel and Greg Bishop on drums and began rehearsing at another of my favourite bars The Old Nun’s Head where I ran a weekly live music night. I’m very fortunate to have worked with such highly skilled musicians and such nice guys, who’re always prepared to bear with me and my unconventional, untrained song writing and playing. We began to develop our sound and I started to have ideas of how I’d like to record. At that time we were invited by a label to make an EP and went across to one of their studios in Poland to make to make some demos. We went to Poland and tracked 3 songs. To cut a long story short it was that experience that helped me work out what I wanted the record to sound like; A live recording of a band in a room not caring if there is a bum note here or a beat missed there but with as much “feel” as possible. There is a level of processing, autotune and homogenisation in most modern music that kills the soul and the truth of a song but there are musicians who still record honestly, and I want to stand with them. At the same time I’d been introduced to Chris Howard and his team at The Rattle which I initially thought would be a good place to store gear and rehearse but turned out to be a group of people who just wanted to help musicians make the best music they can. They never batted an eyelid when I explained I wanted to record live and pulled out all the stops to make it happen. I owe those guys a huge amount. Producer Jim Wallis just happened to have caught a video of Henry and I playing a show in Brixton and got in touch to see if we needed a producer. Within a week Jim, me and the band were in the live room at the Rattle on the first of 3 blocks of recording that made up the album. Over the same period Mark Bounds who is a mentor for artists at the Rattle and beyond introduced me to Austin based singer songwriter Graham Weber who plays in Western Youth and also Runs the non-profit The House Of Songs. Graham kindly added a bunch of dates to our USA tour and invited us to play on his stage at AmericanaFest in London. We were on very late, last on the last night and most people had gone to bed. Fortunately, Scandinavians are made of stronger stuff and Maria Theessink from Tøndder festival happened to be in the audience. She listened to the first half of our opening song then disappeared only to return dragging Björn Pettersson from Rootsy Music in to hear the rest of our set. This was anther one of those special nights and Björn and Maria were just the right audience. I’d known about Rootsy for a while because they always bring over my favourite bands from America so it is an absolute pleasure to be working with Håkan, Björn and everyone else at Rootsy to put this record out on their label Rocksnob. I hope people enjoy this record as much as I have enjoyed making it.”

Review (Maximum Volume Music) : Our Man In The Field is essentially singer-songwriter Alexander Ellis who grew up in Saltburn in the North East of England but now bases himself in London. He writes musical snapshots from the lives he`s observed or the life he`s led. These tend to be heartfelt dispatches from his travels, resulting in songs rife with spacious guitar melodies and innately hummable hooks. It`s been a while coming but he has a debut album “The Company Of Strangers” ready to present to the world. `Thin (I Used To Be Bullet Proof) ` kicks off the album and the first thing you notice is Alexander`s delicately shared vocals. The song was written from the point of view of a person looking back on their life and recognising how life has changed them. The brushed drum and piano keys all add to the ambience of this stunning track but it`s the addition of the superb pedal-steel guitar playing from Danny & The Champions’ Henry Senior that sets this apart. Initially, there`s a slightly jazzy feel about `I`ll Be Gone` with the stand-up bass but with the addition of the pedal steel and brushed drum it gathers a more Americana texture. `Elanor’s Song` begins with some intricate guitar chords being picked before the bass joins in alongside the pedal steel to lay a background against this tale of being there for a friend in a time of need. There`s a real simplicity about `Easy Going Smile` with a strummed guitar and a banjo refrain running throughout this account of a relationship falling apart. Alexander`s voice at times soars over the music and is a real joy to behold. `It Is What It Is` is a more countrified composition with banjo, pedal steel, brushed drum and strummed guitar leading us through this more melancholic offering which seems to narrate a near despondent acceptance of how things are or have turned out. The song almost halted a couple of times for a rendition of the line “ And it is what it is, do what you do, don`t mind me, I won`t mind you” quite heart breaking. There`s a slow intro before `Swansong (Don’t Play With Matches) ` takes off at pace, strumming along relating the dangers of straying from a stable relationship. `It Was Ever So` is a tender tribute to those left bewildered after the closing of London’s oldest fire station in Clerkenwell in 2014 and what awaits those displaced. Another break up song comes with `Stick Around` which seems to convey a sort of despondency over the inevitability of the situation. The pedal steel giving it a further sense of hopelessness. I really don`t know why but `Pockets` put me in mind of Van Morrison`s `Sweet Thing` not quite musically but possibly the sentiment of being in a fresh, rewarding, confident relationship. The line “you can live on my shoulders, you can rest in my arms, you can hide in my pockets, I’ll keep you safe from harm” really summed it up. There`s a sunny, upbeat offering with `Don’t Speak` which employs just a picked acoustic guitar which accentuates Alexander`s dexterous vocal range. The album closes with `I Like You So I’ll Kill You Last` a harmonica led number that seemed out of place until I read somewhere that it was written for the end credits of film that the singer had appeared in. “The Company Of Strangers” is a really remarkable premiere, with songs that reflect on relationship beginnings and breakups, social injustice, and simple life observations. The album has a folk / americana feel and with the singer`s varied and rich vocal range I was reminded of the intensity of New Hampshire folk/blues artist Ray Lamontagne and other superb singer songwriters such as Nick Drake, Foy Vance, Damien Rice, Iron & Wine and Luka Bloom. Not so much company of strangers but company of brothers.

Review (Americana UK) : Ahead of a summer that includes a set on the Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury and a support slot for Neil Young at British Summer Time in London’s Hyde Park, Our Man in the Field are reissuing their debut album “The Company of Strangers” — this time, reimagined in immersive Dolby Atmos – on 6th June 2025. Artwork Our Man In The Field Company of Strangers -remix Originally recorded in a small London room with a shoestring budget, a handful of microphones, and a lot of heart, “The Company of Strangers” captured a raw, unfiltered sound that launched the band’s journey. Now, through the lens of producer Lawrence Biancardi, the music has been given new depth. The full-length Atmos remix surrounds the listener in 360-degree sound, revealing the creaks, breaths, and layered harmonies that characterised the album. “This wasn’t about fixing or modernising,” says Biancardi. “It was about revealing what was already there—the feeling of lightning in a bottle.” The reissue precedes the release of “Silverado” which they describe as their most ambitious record to date: “a genre-bending cowboy hip-hop” album produced by Guy Fletcher (Dire Straits) at Mark Knopfler’s British Grove Studios, and featuring guests including Sonny Landreth, Wil Fry (Jungle) and Ethan Johns. Despite their sonic evolution, “The Company of Strangers” remains a poignant snapshot of the band’s beginnings.