The Musicgoer: The Magnetic Fields' Distortion

In my offline incarnation as an editor at the Edmonton alt-weekly SEE Magazine, I don't just cover film; I also write about theatre and music. I'm sure none of you out there care about the Edmonton live theatre scene (although it's actually pretty lively!), but if you're enough of a fan of my laser-sharp insights into the world of cinema, I thought you might be interested in reading my reviews of new CDs.

So let's kick off this new sideshow feature of The Moviegoer with one of 2008's most anticipated musical releases—well, anticipated by anyone like me who lavished a significant portion of their iPod space upon 1999's mammoth 69 Love Songs: The Magnetic Fields' new album Distortion.

Is the album another masterpiece? Or is it wholly without Merritt? (Ugh... sorry, everyone. I don't know what came over me there.) Read on!

THE MAGNETIC FIELDS
Distortion
(Nonesuch)
*** (out of five)

The new album by The Magnetic Fields begins with a song called “Three-Way”—but instead of living up to the promise of “Let’s Pretend We’re Bunny Rabbits,” from their classic 1999 triple album 69 Love Songs, it turns out to be an instrumental that appears designed to get their fans used to their unexpected new sound. Much of the appeal of the Fields’ previous albums was the combination of Stephin Merritt’s witty, whimsical, intricately rhymed lyrics and the unpretentious, almost amateurish arrangements (heavy on easy-to-play instruments like synthesizers, ukuleles, and xylophones). But Distortion drowns the band in an ocean of shoegazey guitar noise—an approach that doesn’t just seem at odds with the band’s playful spirit, but which, perversely, makes many of the lyrics impossible to understand.

The songs featuring Merritt on lead vocals probably fare the best; even when you can’t make out what he’s singing, there’s no mistaking the melancholy in his familiar Eeyore-like baritone on a track like “Mr. Mistletoe.”

The lyrics you can make out, like “I hate California girls” (from the chorus of “California Girls”) or “I want to be a topless waitress” (from a song called “The Nun’s Litany”), suggest there’s a classic Magnetic Fields in here somewhere. I hope one day we get to hear it.