Uncut magazine (UK) has a preview of The Magnetic Fields' upcoming Nonesuch release, Distortion, that is best summed up by its final sentence: "What a curious and excellent album, all round."
Uncut magazine (UK) has a preview of The Magnetic Fields' upcoming Nonesuch release, Distortion, that is best summed up by its final sentence: "What a curious and excellent album, all round."
Stephin Merritt has said that his aim in making the new record was “to sound more like Jesus and Mary Chain than Jesus and Mary Chain.” In Uncut, writer John Mulvey, after thanking Stephin for his candor, says the effort paid off. He calls the songs some of Stephin's "best ever" and the album "great, so much more satisfying" than most other artists' attempts to follow the Jesus and Mary Chain feedback-heavy lead:
Beneath the racket, though, not that much has changed in The Magnetic Fields modus operandi ... Again, Merritt’s meticulous orchestration of his sonics is what really impresses—a sense of how random sound can be organised into something so attractive that you barely notice the cacophony from which it is constructed. It’s a pretty record ... funny, too.
For more of John Mulvey's album preview, and to hear what Mary Chain band member Phil King has to say about the comparison, visit uncut.co.uk.
