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| View Larger Image | Distortion | Audio CDby Magnetic Fields
| List Price: | $16.98 | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Audio CD | | Studio: | Nonesuch | | Release Date: | January 15, 2008 | | Sales Rank: | 23,271rd |
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TRACK LISTING |
Disc: 1
- Track 1: Three-Way
- Track 2: California Girls
- Track 3: Old Fools
- Track 4: Xavier Says
- Track 5: Mr. Mistletoe
- Track 6: Please Stop Dancing
- Track 7: Drive on, Driver
- Track 8: Too Drunk to Dream
- Track 9: Till the Bitter End
- Track 10: I'll Dream Alone
- Track 11: Nun's Litany
- Track 12: Zombie Boy
- Track 13: Courtesans
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Amazon.com
Distortion, Magnetic Fields’ second Nonesuch release, features the brilliant melodies and wry lyrics that composer and band leader Stephin Merritt has long been praised for, but, as the album title suggests, he serves them up with a twist. If the late, great Cole Porter had somehow been resurrected just in time to appear at the Coachella indie-rock fest, the results might sound something like this –"small, ironic tales of love and woe," as National Public Radio has described Merritt’s songs, startlingly enveloped in layers of live feedback that recall the noisy pop provocations of legendary Scottish quartet The Jesus and Mary Chain. As album producer, Merritt takes a completely novel approach to his deployment of feedback, going well beyond mere fuzzed-out guitar to incorporate cello, piano and accordion into his mad-scientist mix. What he’s conjured up is a gorgeous drone that reverberates over the length of 13 tunes – from the exuberantly rocking opener, "Three Way," to the soused, sing-along lament, "Too Drunk To Dream," to the bittersweet closer, "Courtesans." It’s like hearing a great three-minute pop classic from someone else’s car radio in the middle of a traffic jam: melodic bliss surfacing above the din. Merritt’s doleful baritone is employed to great effect on the brooding, lonely-guy balladry of "Mr. Mistletoe" and the horror moviemeets-romantic comedy of "Zombie Boy." But he swaps lead vocal chores throughout Distortion with Shirley Simms, a singer who longtime fans will recognize from her performances on the Magnetic Fields’ career-making 1999 three-disc set, 69 Love Songs. Merritt calls Simms’ voice "as pop as pop gets" and gives her some of the cleverest numbers, including "California Girls," a Beach Boys-style anti-anthem about murderous envy, and "The Nun’s Litany," a chastely rendered list of extremely naughty fantasies. Stephin Merritt’s work attracts a wide-ranging audience, from connoisseurs of the American Songbook, for which Merritt is arguably making some serious 21st Century contributions, to indie rock fans who admire his innovative use of chamber instrumentation and his deadpan humor. Tickets to Magnetic Fields’ winter ’08 American tour, a series of residencies in several major cities, sold out upon announcement and more dates have been added to meet the demand. NPR chose Merritt as the first artist on its new All Songs Considered feature, Project Song, in which a performer is given a specific picture and phrase and challenged to compose and record a new song about them within 48 hours; Merritt’s "Man Of A Million Faces" is now available at npr.org, along with video clips of the song-making process. Distortion joins an already eclectic catalogue of Merritt-helmed projects on Nonesuch: Magnetic Fields’ 2004 Nonesuch debut, i; The Gothic Archies’ A Tragic Treasury, a collaboration with Lemony Snicket author Daniel Handler; Showtunes, a compilation of works composed for the theater; and the soundtrack to the Oscar-nominated film, Pieces Of April. The Magnetic Fields Photos More from the Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs [BOX SET] [LIMITED EDITION] i Holiday Get Lost The Charm of the Highway Strip The Wayward Bus/Distant Plastic Trees 69 Love Songs, Pt. 1 69 Love Songs, Pt. 2 69 Love Songs, Pt. 3 The House of Tomorrow [EP] I Thought You Were My Boyfriend: Remixes [SINGLE] |
Amazon.com
Fans of the Jesus and Mary Chain will surely be thrilled with Distortion, which lives up to its title in the first few seconds of the jovial opener, "Three Way." The entire album is awash in a bed of feedback and noise sharp enough to match bandleader/Svengali Stephen Merritt's notoriously wry lyrical jabs. In its willful obfuscation of simple melodies, Distortion recalls MF's earlier, more electronic, more reverb-soaked output. Of course, Merritt's songs could probably work with any arrangement, cacophonous or otherwise. His lyrics and succinct melodies survive the treatment, and his inner Cole Porter remains intact. "California Girls" features regular collaborator Shirley Simms cheerily plotting a battle-axe attack on some of the more blonde and plastic elements of California society (Simms handles vocal duties on about half the tunes here). "Mr. Mistletoe" is an anti-carol with a forlorn Merritt attaching his romantic betrayal to various holiday symbols. "Too Drunk to Dream" is classic Merritt, with an upbeat but down-on-its-luck refrain: "I gotta get too drunk to dream / Because I only dream of you." Drenched in distortion, MF's now-expected acoustic instruments--cello, piano, accordion--create some remarkable textures. Merritt and crew remain full of songs and surprises, and in finding their ability to make a ruckus, have created an inarguably singular offering. --Jason Pace |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 21 reviews)
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Different, and good by Charles T. Miller (Atlanta, GA)  5 Stars
December 12, 2008
I, for one, love this album. No, it's not "69 Love Songs". Unlike some reviewers, I'm glad that they don't make the same album over and over again. The production is interesting and works well with the songs, which are very strong. I think it's better than their last album, "i". This is change I can believe in!
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great LP by Joseph Broze (chicago) 5 Stars
November 21, 2008
While I am not a Stephin Merritt superfan, this is the fourth Magnetic Fields LP I have bought - "Charm of the Highway Strip" is my personal favorite - and I think it's great. I am surprised by the negative reviews.
Be forewarned I guess to all Magnetic Fields fans...this is basically traditional MF songs amped up with a heavy dose of feedback/noise ala The Jesus & Mary Chain. Some might not like it, I think it's a welcome change for the dude - although there are alot of bands playing this style right now, which is fine by me! See Raveonettes, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, A Place To Bury Strangers, Ceremony, Vandelles, Crystal Stilts, Vivian Girls, Manhattan Love Suicides, Glasvegas, etc.
The songs might get a bit repetitive but that doesn't really bother me. The standout songs are: California Girls (amazing!), Drive on Driver, Too Drunk To Dream, etc.
Overall: don't expect this too sound like any other Magnetic Fields record. It's just a really noisy version of MF. If you can't handle that, you might want to stay away. I love it!
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Biggest disapointment of the year? by B. Martin  2 Stars
October 17, 2008
Stephin Merritt is a genius, but he is a frustrating one. His band's catalog is decidedly inconsistent. When he's at the top of his game, the results are awesome (see 69 Love Songs and I). When he's off, well, it's not so good. I had high hopes for Distortion but I think I can say it is the most disappointing album of 2008. The title says it all. This album is full of distorted guitars, feedback and reverb. Underneath all of the sonic gunk, if you can dig deep enough, you will find Merritt's melodies. But they are sub-par. Only California Girls and Three Way stand out. I applaud Merritt for always trying different things, but let's remember that different doesn't always equal good.
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Disappointing by Scott Stugelmeyer (Brooklyn Park, MN United States)  3 Stars
September 26, 2008
It got better with the second listen, as the songs are high quality. As TMF fans, we know Mr. Merritt is a freaky genius. Does that mean this album is five years too advanced for me to get?
The songs are beautiful if you listen closely. The production, purportedly by Merritt himself, is atrocious. It sounds as if it were recorded with the band onstage at the Metrodome and the mikes in a toilet under water at the 50 yard line. Distorted instruments do not mean fuzzy, veiled production in my mind. It ruins an otherwise 4 to 4.5 star disc in my mind, although I can't give a TMF album lower than a 3.
One good thing: it got me to go out and buy the whole back-catalog because previously I only had 69 and i. I was so disappointed I needed to get me some good Magnetic Fields.
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Will Mr. Merritt ever run out of ideas? by Gerth Mirthful  4 Stars
March 23, 2008
I'm starting to doubt it. He's written as many incredible pop songs as just about anybody and keeps cranking them out pretty consistently. There are a few songs here that miss the mark, but the rest I can listen to over and over. The "distorted" sound works very well too. My favs are "California Girls," "The Nun's Litany," "Old Fools," "Three Way" and "Please Stop Dancing." I wouldn't get this (or "i") without having gotten into the earlier stuff though. The "Holiday" album is where I would start.
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SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
| i
by Magnetic Fields
The long-awaited follow-up to the acclaimed 1999 release 69 Love Songs, i finds singer/songwriter Stephin Merritt in full possession of his acerbic wit. Featuring lyrics ripe with melancholy and bittersweet imagery, the record's fourteen tracks are possibly the most personal Merritt has created to date -- a departure from the many voices on 69 Love Songs.
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| Get Lost
by Magnetic Fields
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| Holiday
by Magnetic Fields
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| The Charm of the Highway Strip
by Magnetic Fields
Sweet and sour, incurably romantic, and deeply misanthropic, Magnetic Fields' mastermind Stephin Merritt is a one-of-a-kind voice in modern lo-fi pop. This 1994 outing is a bit of a departure, with Merritt taking his trademark ABBA-styled Casio-pop for a spin in the country--literally. Awash in lush, Nashville-ready production, songs like the doleful "Lonely Highway" (which encompasses snatches of the Lee Hazelwood classic "Jackson") and "Born on a Train" are nothing short of thrilling. But...
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| The Wayward Bus/Distant Plastic Trees
by Magnetic Fields
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