Field Medic

Kevin Patrick Sullivan adopted the alias Field Medic in 2013 to release his lo-fi folk material. Self-imposed restrictions on the recording process produced stronger results at home than in professional studios, so he carried that intimate method through a series of minor projects until it reached fuller form on the 2020 album Floral Prince. For the follow-up, he shifted to conventional studio work on 2022’s Grow Your Hair Long if You’re Wanting to See Something You Can Change. His growing interest in trap music then prompted the addition of electronic drum programming and synthesizers on the 2023 album Light Is Gone 2.

Sullivan had been making music since his late teens, when he formed the group Westwood & Willow with his brother Sean. Several earlier projects gave way to Field Medic, which became the vehicle for his four-track solo folk songs. Basic equipment and a self-imposed limit of three takes per track defined the early lo-fi sound. Output remained high, yielding numerous self-released EPs and largely improvised collections such as the 2013 release Crushed Pennies and the 2014 set Fuck You Grim Reaper.

A debut full-length, Light Is Gone, arrived in 2015, after which steady touring and rapid releases began to build an audience. He signed with the independent label Run for Cover, which issued Songs from the Sunroom in 2017; the collection gathered lo-fi tracks recorded in the sunroom of his rented house, some previously available only on cassette or limited EPs. Fade into the Dawn, released in 2019, marked the most developed Field Medic album to that point, replacing the usual sparse drum-machine backing with live drums and extra guitar overdubs. The following year, Floral Prince assembled new songs alongside previously issued material and assorted other documents into a loose, mixtape-style sequence.

For the next record, Sullivan enlisted producer and multi-instrumentalist Gabe Goodman and entered a proper studio for the first time, leaving behind the bedroom-pop approach. With Goodman and additional collaborators, he rendered his songwriting in higher fidelity on Grow Your Hair Long if You’re Wanting to See Something You Can Change, which appeared in October 2022.

A further change of direction came quickly. Field Medic’s September 2023 album Light Is Gone 2 incorporated electronic elements into the folk-based writing. The title referenced the 2015 debut to signal a stylistic pivot, one that finally gave Sullivan command of the synthesizers and drum machines he had once tried to use within his early lo-fi constraints. Remote mixing was supplied by former Death Cab for Cutie member Chris Walla, who added clarity and brightness to the production.