Smoke and mirrors

The Magnetic Fields - Get Lost (1995) ***

Nominated by: Alex

Music club: MNAC

MNAC playlist addition: The Desperate Things You Make Me Do

My only previous experience with The Magnetic Fields, which is dominated by one guy - Stephin Merritt, is 69 Love Songs.

A colleague at the time, played it a lot and a couple of the songs burrowed into my brain. So, I bought a copy, in some ways to be hip and current, but it's not a triple CD that I love or play often, although I do love and applaud the fool's errand idea. A consistently high-quality triple studio album cannot be done. Even The Fabs didn't try to do that. A decent single vinyl album is in 69 Songs somewhere, but he'd need a new title which wouldn't be as school-boy naughty would it.

It certainly didn't prompt me to head off and buy other albums by them/him.

So, Magnetic Fields and Get Lost is a new experience and I wish I could be all gushy with my praise, but this one made me go back and relisten to 69 Songs, which it turns out I like more, for reasons that I'm still grappling with.

Second track, The Desperate Things You Make Me Do is a standout because it feels like a fully formed, thought out song, whereas some of the others feel lo-fi slapdash (the opener frinstance).

I did like With Whom To Dance because it's a simple little ditty, reminiscent of dashed off stuff on 69 Songs, that relieves the gluggy feeling built up to that point. But then he goes back to the opener sound with his vocals and he kinda loses me a tad. Does this one (You And Me And The Moon) remind anyone else of wildly un-hip eighties synth poppers like Kajagoogoo?

The variety of approach does my head in, in the end. By the time I get to The Village In The Morning I'm starting to check whether it's still Get Lost, or another of his albums. I really don't like that one, sorry (it's probably everyone else's favourite).

Last song, The Dreaming Moon, is my second favourite - like Desperate Things, it sounds like a real song rather than a sketch.

My opinions of bands/albums are often influenced by the vocals and Stephin Merritt often sounds to me like he's left that aspect to the last minute and then dashed off a take because he's run out of time. Or else maybe he's ambivalent about providing vocals (like that look on the cover)? Dunno.

Still, I'm glad I had a sustained go at this, so thanks for sharing Alex.

Having now read Tom's email, I'd have to agree - The Magnetic Fields are not really my thing either. But then again, there are tons of things I listen to that you'd all shake your heads at, I'm sure.