New year, new Magnetic Fields

mosstin · 13-12-2011 5:41pm #1

Magnetic Fields will release 'Love At The Bottom Of The Sea' in March 2012, their first album since 2010's 'Realism', an underwhelming experience for yours truly. In fact Merritt and co haven't truly whelmed me since '69 Love Songs' which - co-incidentally or not? - was the band's last release for Merge Records, under whose banner they'll release this their 10th studio album.
Also live dates in the Olympia and Cork Opera House on April 28th and 29th respectively.

lordgoat · 13-12-2011 5:49pm

Awesome news, just read it on their site.

Happy days!

johnny_ultimate · 13-12-2011 7:06pm

Yeah a good day for Fields' news

Delighted about the Dublin gig. Their last London gig is the first and only gig I've ever specifically traveled abroad to see, so will be nice to see them on Irish turf!

Hope the album is a fully-rounded affair. As much as I love sections of the I through Realism trilogy, there's certainly a lot of lows amongst the highs.

johnny_ultimate · 16-12-2011 12:45pm

Woo ticket get!

Slightly OT, but a new 'Irish' (loosely using the term) film has an unedited take of Johnny Flynn performing of Papa Was a Rodeo. Solid enough film (depends on your tolerance for affluent London hipsters), but that was a particularly nice touch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rACt1o5Uzmk

triseke · 16-12-2011 1:25pm

delighted about the news!

Needs to get me a ticket asap!

Dreddybajs · 16-12-2011 7:26pm

Aw excellent didn't realise they were playing! Very excited.

cranks · 22-12-2011 10:53pm

To bring you a smile for a couple of reasons - great cover; great original

johnny_ultimate · 11-01-2012 8:19pm

First single is up:

http://stereogum.com/921211/the-magnetic-fields-andrew-in-drag/mp3s/

That's the scathing ironic wit we love

Also love how many words Stephin is able to rhyme with 'drag'.

lordgoat · 11-01-2012 9:10pm

That is amazing. Loved it.

KJF · 12-01-2012 4:46pm

Been listening to a lot of soma.fm lately and they've been playing this song quite a bit.

http://www.leilujh.com/rockslide.html

I was convinced it was Stephin Merritt guesting but I can't find any confirmation. What do you think? Stephin Merritt or the best Stephin Merritt impersonator out there?

johnny_ultimate · 27-02-2012 10:17pm

Good old NPR: album streaming over yonder.

mosstin · 28-04-2012 1:03pm

Gig tonight then which I'm really looking forward to and yet, am I alone in thinking that the new album is terrible? Like some Future Bible Heroes' B-sides and rarities compilation. It just grates. Hugely disappointing.

lordgoat · 28-04-2012 1:21pm

mosstin wrote: »

Gig tonight then which I'm really looking forward to and yet, am I alone in thinking that the new album is terrible? Like some Future Bible Heroes' B-sides and rarities compilation. It just grates. Hugely disappointing.

I think i only like maybe 3 songs or so off, not grown at all on me!

Still looking forward to tonight.

triseke · 28-04-2012 11:35pm

Gig was great! really enjoyed it!

mosstin · 29-04-2012 12:04am

triseke wrote: »

Gig was great! really enjoyed it!

Yeah, magic gig. A reminder of how great 69 Love Songs Is. Thought 'Book Of Love' was fantastic tonight.

mosstin · 29-04-2012 12:29am

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-eDYQDbXHE

johnny_ultimate · 29-04-2012 3:26am

Pretty terrific gig I must say. Second time seeing them, and while the setlist was a bit more unpredictable this time around - no Papa Was a Rodeo or any of the good tracks from Distortion! - they really nailed it. The problem with Magnetic Fields gigs is they can be a bit... samey... due to the minimal setup, but there was always a nice surprise around the corner. I wouldn't put Book of Love in my favourites from 69 Love Songs, but that minimal version was a thing of beauty. Most of the 69... tracks were great, actually, and again they didn't play my all-time favourites from that album. Didn't really care though, such was the force of Come Back from San Francisco et al. Some old classics - Swinging London was fantastic - and it was definitely the newer ones that struggled. But yeah, there's only three or four tracks I really like from the new album anyway...

A damn good gig all in all, and Stephin was in great form: from Strange Powers and hearsay I've heard he can be 'difficult' live, but both times I've seen him he's been if not lively at least witty and pleasant company. Only real disappointment was the lack of a Claudia / Stephin duet.

Drunk Norwegians behind me threatened to be irritating at first, but I think the wine knocked 'em out pretty quickly :pac:

lordgoat · 29-04-2012 8:56am

I left it a bit disappointed to be honest. Not with the performance, just the setlist. I'd also have preferred less talking and a couple of more songs. And this song is our next song gets a bit weary.

Performance wise though, you can't fault em. Still would have loved the nun's litany or even Cali girls. Was there only 2 songs from Realism and Distortion? Driver on Driver and I can't think of the other one now, i just remember thinking it last night...

johnny_ultimate · 29-04-2012 10:45am

Yeah You Must Be Out of Your Mind (possibly the only 'great' track from Realism) was as far as I know the only one from the album.

I can see disappointment with the setlist, and yeah The Nun's Litany (my favourite of their songs) was a sore absence. Comparing it to their last gig I saw, there were even more notable absences: California Girls, Papa Was a Rodeo, Shipwrecked (Gothic Archies), All the Umbrellas in London, Yeah!, Oh Yeah! etc...

I still think it was a largely well-considered set piece, and one that made me more appreciative of songs of their I wouldn't always have been the biggest fan of.

mosstin · 29-04-2012 5:39pm

lordgoat wrote: »

I left it a bit disappointed to be honest. Not with the performance, just the setlist. I'd also have preferred less talking and a couple of more songs. And this song is our next song gets a bit weary.

Performance wise though, you can't fault em. Still would have loved the nun's litany or even Cali girls. Was there only 2 songs from Realism and Distortion? Driver on Driver and I can't think of the other one now, i just remember thinking it last night...

The thing I love about 'em is the fact that their back catalogue is so rich, especially the further they delve back into it. For example, thinking back on it now probably my favourite song from last night was 'Smoke and Mirrors' - completely new twist on a wonderful song.
I thought the setlist was really well thought out and, sure, a few songs I'd love to have heard ('Living In An Abandoned...' and 'Dreaming Moon'). It was no less wonderful for their absence though.

New year, new Magnetic Fields

Comments