The Magnetic Fields

[theimage13]

My brother turned me on to them about five years ago, and I've been madly in love ever since. 69 Love Songs is one of the single most depressing collections of music I've ever heard, but damnit, the tracks are great. I spent a good portion of the summer getting re-addicted to Distortion, and now I'm back on Realism.

And if anyone here has a streaming account on Netflix, the Stephan Merritt documentary is currently online. I'd highly recommend it for anyone who's even the tiniest bit of a fan.

[triplesun]

From The House of Tomorrow:

MAGNETIC FIELDS LOVE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA OUT MARCH 6



The Magnetic Fields will be releasing a new album, Love at the Bottom of the Sea, on March 6, 2012, on Merge Records in North America, and Domino Records overseas. The band's tenth full-length album is their first release of new material with Merge since 1999's highly acclaimed 69 Love Songs. The band will celebrate their new album with tours through North America and Europe. Please visit the calendar for full ticket purchasing information.

After putting out their "synth-free trilogy," The Magnetic Fields are returning to their signature mix of synth and acoustic sounds. Merritt notes about the new album that "instead of using a synthesizer as a melodic instrument, much of the time I used it as a compositional destructive mechanism, something eating away at the apparent order of my perfectionist arrangements. I was very happy to be using synthesizers in ways that I had not done before. Most of the synthesizers on the record didn't exist when we were last using synthesizers."

The songs - none over three minutes long - were recorded with Merritt's usual cast of collaborators: Claudia Gonson, Sam Davol, John Woo, Shirley Simms, Johny Blood and Daniel Handler.


There will be a limited-edition eggshell-colored vinyl available exclusively to those who pre-order the album at the Merge Records Store. The first 100 people who order the album from Merge will receive a free signed poster and a Magnetic Fields button.
Sign up for the newsletter and follow the band @TheMagFields for the latest news.

Spring 2012 tour dates for the US, Canada, and Europe have also been announced:

March 6 - HUDSON, NY | Helsinki Hudson
March 7 - PHILADELPHIA, PA | Union Transfer
March 14, 15, 16 - AUSTIN, TX | SXSW
March 18 - VANCOUVER, BC | The Vogue
March 19 - SEATTLE, WA | Neptune Theater
March 20 - SEATTLE, WA | Neptune Theater
March 21 - PORTLAND, OR | Roseland Theater
March 23 - LOS ANGELES, CA | Orpheum Theater
March 24 - OAKLAND, CA | Fox Theater
March 26 - CHICAGO, IL | Vic Theater
March 27 - CHICAGO, IL | Vic Theater
March 28 - IOWA CITY, IA | Englert Theater
March 30 - TORONTO ONT | Sound Academy
March 31 - MONTREAL, QUE | Le National
April 3 - NEW YORK, NY | Beacon Theater
April 6 - BOSTON, MA | Berklee Performance Center
April 7 - BOSTON, MA | Berklee Performance Center
April 9 - WASHINGTON, DC | The 930 Club
April 11 - CARRBORO, NC | Cat's Cradle
April 12 - CARRBORO, NC | Cat's Cradle
April 14 - ATLANTA, GA | Variety Playhouse

11 March - MINEHEAD, UK | All Tomorrow's Parties
24 April - BRIGHTON, UK | Komedia
25 April - LONDON, UK | Royal Festival Hall
27 April - MANCHESTER, UK | Royal Northern College of Music
28 April - DUBLIN, IRELAND | Olympia
29 April - CORK, IRELAND | Cork Opera House
1 May - PORTO, PORTUGAL
2 May - LISBON, PORTUGAL
9 May - OSLO, NORWAY | Rockefeller (Tickets on sale 17 Dec.)
11 May - GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN | Annedalskyrkan
12 May - STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN | Filadelfiakyrkan
14 May - BERLIN, GERMANY | Passionskirche
15 May - HAMBURG, GERMANY | Kampnagel K6
16 May - AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS | De Duif


Just got my tickets for the Philly show. So excited. I've been waiting years to see Merritt perform live.

[Kid Charlemagne]

Pretty sure I may have to fight my way to those SXSW showcases, but I'll do it anyway. 69 Love Songs is awesome for long car rides, I always put that on when I'm driving from city to city.

[triplesun]

The first single from Love at the Bottom of the Sea is up on Stereogum for our listening pleasure, and I am LOVING it.

"Andrew in Drag."

[dlb]

Damn! I can't afford traveling to Berlin or Hamburg again after already visiting both earlier this year. :/

[theimage13]

Looooooooooooooooove.

[kel]

revisting "i" -- so in love with it still. it's been hard for me to get into anything post "distortion" (the show i saw in support of "realism" was bleak, sadly).

hope the bump doesn't get anyone excited for something new. just feeling nostalgic, i suppose.

[theimage13]

Well, you hoped wrong.

Just listened to It's Only Time on the way to a concert last night. That song brings back some really painful memories, so I probably won't revisit it again for a long, long time. But still, three cheers for i!

[kel]

sorry 'bout it. i'm allowed, though. better than starting a new thread like a douche who can't figure out the search function. "i don't believe you" and "i looked all over town" are in prime rotation right now. shit kinda sucks. thanks, stephin.

[SchwarzerAbt]

hope the bump doesn't get anyone excited for something new. just feeling nostalgic, i suppose.

Well, finally there is something new: http://www.houseoftomorrow.com/blog/...album-and-tour

[SchwarzerAbt]

The new album "50 Song Memoir" will be autobiographical, featuring one song for every year of Stephin Merritt's life unto his 50th birthday (he started the project on that day).

I think this is an awesome concept for an album and the songs available so far are great. Have a listen here: http://www.spin.com/2016/11/new-musi...ime=1479403044

[SchwarzerAbt]

Bumping the tread again, in case you are still interested and haven't noticed yet:

New album 'Quickies' ou in May. Supposedly filled with very short songs. So far there are three singles out, this is the latest:



I wasn't a fan of the last album to be honest. Although I liked the concept the music didn't resonate with me so much in the long run. Still looking forward to this release though.

[Frozen Beach]

I honestly thought 50 song memoir was the best since 69 Love Songs. Lots of variety.

[SchwarzerAbt]

Listening to the remastered Hose of Tomorrow EP... Just noticed that both NIN's Physical (You're so) and TMF's Technical (You're so) are from a 1992 EP. No real connection here (beside Adam Ant maybe). But still a noteworthy random coincedence!