Distortion (2008) Stephin Merritt, the wry, sonorous bard of downtown New York, has made yet another lovely contradiction of an album, Distortion , both wintry and lush,… The Magnetic Fields Pop
MAGNETIC FIELDS New CD Distortion , another lovely contradiction
Image credit: Chris Buck
MAGNETIC FIELDS New CD Distortion, another lovely contradiction
EW's GRADE
A-

Details Release Date: Jan 15, 2008; Lead Performance: The Magnetic Fields; Genre: Pop

Stephin Merritt, the wry, sonorous bard of downtown New York, has made yet another lovely contradiction of an album, Distortion, both wintry and lush, buoyant and black-hearted. Poetic sentiments like ''Sober life is a prison/S---faced it is a blessing'' (''Too Drunk to Dream'') and ''I want to be a topless waitress/I want my mother to shed one tear'' (''The Nun's Litany'') are wrapped in woolly layers of Pet Sounds swoon and shot through with jangling boy-girl harmonies — the perfect antidote to a season of false cheer and frozen toes. A-
DOWNLOAD THIS: Stream ''Please Stop Dancing'' at the Magnetic Fields' MySpace

Originally posted Jan 11, 2008 Published in issue #974 Jan 18, 2008 Order article reprints