The Magnetic Fields began their fall tour this past Friday at the State Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Beforehand, Stephin Merritt stopped by The Current studio to talk and perform a few solo acoustic songs. The next night brought a show in Madison, Wisconsin, where, reports The Isthmus, Merritt's "astonishing and sweeping body of work" was "yielded up wit, emotional nuance, memorable hooks and crisp, careful rhymes." Then came a Dallas show the Star-Telegram termed a "victory lap for one of the most idiosyncratic and interesting bands in indie pop" and the Dallas Morning News lauded as "meticulous chamber-pop."
The Magnetic Fields began their fall tour this past Friday at the State Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Before the night's set, Stephin Merritt stopped by The Current studio to talk with host Mary Lucia and perform a few solo acoustic songs, including "The Nun's Litany" and "California Girls" off the group's latest Nonesuch release, Distortion, as well as "The Book of Love" from 69 Love Songs. You can listen to the segment online at minnesota.publicradio.org.
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Up next was a show at The Capitol Theater in Madison, Wisconsin, where, reports Kenneth Burns of The Isthmus Daily Page, Merritt's "astonishing and sweeping body of work" was on the program, "gorgeously sung by Merritt, pianist Claudia Gonson and vocalist Shirley Simms, and it yielded up wit, emotional nuance, memorable hooks and crisp, careful rhymes." Read the review at thedailypage.com.
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From the Midwest, the group headed to Texas, where they performed at The Magestic in Dallas Monday next and The Paramount Theatre in Austin the next.
Thor Christensen of the Dallas Morning News says the group brought "meticulous chamber-pop" whose "melodies were haunting, the arrangements precise, and the lyrics were a perfect fusion of Cole Porter and 'Weird Al' Yankovic." He enjoyed hearing the songs from the new, feedback-heavy album unplugged in concert, asserting: "With lyrics this strange and witty, you want to hear every last couplet." Read the review at dallasnews.com.
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Darren White reviewed the show for the Fort Worth Star-Telgram and terms it a "victory lap for one of the most idiosyncratic and interesting bands in indie pop."
After praising vocalist Shirley Simms for her "heartbreaking and brilliant" performance on Distortion's "Drive On, Driver," White notes the distinction between the fuzzed-up sound of the record and the acoustic set-up on the tour, suggesting:
That’s the sort of contradiction Merritt seems to thrive on, much the same as how his bouncy melodies contrast with morbidly funny melancholy lyrics. It’s not an easy task to make misanthropy entertaining, but somehow, the Magnetic Fields do it well.
That review can be found at star-telegram.com.
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The two Texas shows were followed by a concert last night at The Boulder Theater in Boulder, Colorado. The Denver Post's John Wenzel admits to having been "a drooling fan of Merritt's since high school," lauding the "heartbreaking, critically acclaimed, hyper-literate, impressively diverse catalog of showtunes, synth pop, indie rock, country, torch songs and more" of The Magnetic Fields, he ultimately accepts that his interview with Stephin, prior to last night's show, didn't turn out quite as he'd hoped.
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In a very different interview, The Guardian recently featured an interview with The Magnetic Fields' keyboard player, singer, and former drummer Claudia Gonson, discussing what drew her to the piano and offers some advice for prospective players. You'll find that interview at guardian.co.uk.
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