Campus Connection

Most bands are content with one concept album, the novelty of which soon wears off.  The Magnetic Fields, on the other hand, make a living off this dying art form.  My introduction to the group came with 1994’s The Charm of the Highway Trip.  As the title indicates, this album tackles the quintessentially American subject of the road trip.  It is a whimsical journey through America’s fascination with mobility, and comes highly recommended to those seeking an introduction to the band.  The group took their love of the concept album three steps further with 1999’s 69 Love Songs.  This three-disc behemoth is what it says it is, 69 different love songs, all originals and running the gamut of musical styles.  Remarkably, The Magnetic Fields were able to craft a masterpiece befitting pop geniuses from this seemingly Herculean task.  Next came 2004’s i.  Each of this album’s fourteen songs begins with the letter “I”, hence the title.  Realistically, Magnetic Fields were setting themselves up for disappointment after the comprehensive 69 Love Songs,  but i has some highlights and continued the band’s progression from the synth-heavy sound of their early records to a more organic instrumentation. 

The Magnetic Fields have chosen to continue down the path of the concept album with their most recent release, Distortion.  The unifying theme here is instrumental, as layers and layers of distortion permeate every inch of the record.  It is a tribute to the songwriting ability of front-man Stephen Merritt that the group was able to capture this theme successfully on Distortion.  The Magnetic Fields are able to craft great pop songs through the dark clouds of fuzz, thereby avoiding the potential pitfall for an album full of distorted songs to become repetitive and stale.        

The instrumental “Three-Way” starts off the album with a simple repeated guitar riff as swirls of distortion hiss in the background.  The piano eventually enters at about the same time a second guitar interjects rhythmically, tracking the piano melody.  The shouted chorus of “Three Way” marks the group’s return to the repeating guitar riff that began the song.  This feedback-drenched track is the perfect introduction to the rest of the album.

“California Girls” is one of the highlights of the record and ranks among the group’s finest work.  Merritt enlists Shirley Simms to sing this manifesto indicating a certain hatred for the stereotypical California girl.  This is one of those tracks where the distortion is measured and does not sink the pop gem hiding behind the grime.  The lyrics are full of classic one-liners, including this gem: “They breathe coke/ and have affairs with each passing rock star/ they come on like squares and/ get off like squirrels/ I hate California girls.” 

Overall, Merritt’s voice is not the greatest match for the layers of distortion and most of the strongest vocal tracks come from guest-vocalist Simms.  For example, “Old Fools” is a bit of a dud, as Merritt’s crooning baritone gets lost and the track never gets going.  Perhaps the best song on the album is “Please Stop Dancing”, where Merritt and Simms each take turns singing and the distortion practically screams on this track while Simms plaintively begs the listener to “please stop dancing in my head.”  Besides the feedback, chainsaw guitars enter about a minute in, while simple sounds from the bass, piano and drums add texture to this pleasant song, whose mantra-like lyrics grows on the listener with time. 

Similarly pleasant songs appear throughout the album on tracks such as “Drive On, Driver,” where Simms weaves a tale of unrequited love and the guitars hiss with ferocity.  The song ends with an instrumental flourish including a brief guitar solo (unfortunately lacking on the rest of the album) and strings which stand out despite the distortion. “Too Drunk To Dream” is a funny take on the pleasure and pain which comes from a night of heavy drinking, punctuated by Merritt concluding: “I gotta get too drunk to dream/ ‘Cause dreaming only makes me blue/ I gotta get too drunk to dream/ Because I only dream of you.” “I’ll Dream Alone,” continues the well-worn lyrical path of lost love, and is augmented by a beautiful, soaring chorus.  Merritt’s vocals are much higher in the mix on this song, a tactic which could have improved some of the slower tracks on the album. “The Nun’s Litany” is Simms’ hilarious take on the secret life of a nun who secretly yearns to escape the convent.  “Courtesans” ends the album with a bang, as twinkling pianos rub up against walls of undulating fuzz and Simms sadly sings of the complexities of love.

In summary, Distortion is another fine album from the Magnetic Fields, one where they have once again proven that the concept album can still be fresh with the right mix of songwriting, vocals, and instrumentation.      

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