Lauren RabainoThe birth of your first child. A new career. The sudden death of your parents in a hydrofoil crash. Some things carry such weight that they cannot help but define your very existence.
Events that carry more significance in my life than the release of a new record from The Magnetic Fields can be cataloged in a short list of exactly zero items. This entirely ridiculous fact is exacerbated by the leisurely production pace allotted by Magnetic Fields mastermind Stephin Merritt. Sure, he’s been busy with like three other bands, soundtrack work and those goddamned Volvo commercials, but he should really have some sympathy for those of us with no lives whatsoever. The last full-length outing, “i,” was an agonizing four years ago!
Really, though, the new record is worth the wait. Its appropriate title, “Distortion,” indicates the return of incredibly noisy, fuzzed-out and feedback-heavy production, which last appeared in ass-kicking stompers like “When My Boy Walks Down the Street” back in 1999. Merritt elaborated on the sound in a recent interview, saying he wanted to use consistent instrumentation and evoke the sound of the first Jesus and Mary Chain record.
This noise aesthetic is most fun on the excellent track “Too Drunk To Dream,” which became an instant anthem for my carload of alcoholic friends. Go ahead and blow out your speakers on this one; it sounds even better that way. While you’re at it, lose your voice singing along: “Sober, life is a prison/ Shit-faced, it is a blessing/ Sober, nobody wants you/ Shit-faced, they’re all undressing.” Merritt’s songwriting certainly hasn’t lost any of its absurd honesty.
What is a bit different from past releases is the cohesion. I’m not one to balk at Merritt’s propensity for experimentation, but the homogeneous production and instrumentation is a nice change of pace, and these aren’t the only moves toward accessibility. Those of you observant of such things might note that every song is almost exactly three minutes in duration.
Yes, this means exactly what you think: If ever there was a gateway drug – er, I mean olive branch – which could reach everyone not yet in the fold of the Magnetic Fields faithful . it is “Distortion.” (Some of the new songs are up on the band’s MySpace page, by the way.)
But for those of you who are already in the Church of Merritt, don’t worry that this record is in any way repetitive or shallow. Much diversity is found within the seemingly limited template of the three-minute-orchestral-noise-pop song. Some of my favorite old MF songs are of the country ballad flavor, and the new album is no exception.
“Drive on Driver” delivers the beautifully twangy, rocking goodness we’ve come to expect. For the torch songs, such as the excellent “Please Stop Dancing,” Mr. Merritt himself lends his gravelly vocals. And the second track instantly put a smile on my face. After decades of music addressing the subject in a wholly one-sided way, it’s about time the world has a pop song that openly declares in its chorus: “I hate California Girls.”
Jesse Bo Widmark is an architectural engineering senior and a business director for KCPR, San Luis Obispo, 91.3 FM.