Distortion (CD)
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." 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 organized into something so attractive that you barely notice the cacophony from which it is constructed. It's a pretty record ... funny, too. - Uncut
| Tracklisting | |
| Disk | 1 | |
| 1 | Three-Way |
| 2 | California Girls |
| 3 | Old Fools |
| 4 | Xavier Says |
| 5 | Mr Mistletoe |
| 6 | Please Stop Dancing |
| 7 | Drive On, Driver |
| 8 | Too Drunk To Dream |
| 9 | Till The Bitter End |
| 10 | I'll Dream Alone |
| 11 | The Nun's Litany |
| 12 | Zombie Boy |
| 13 | Courtesans |
| Billy Davis
- Elkins, WV, US |
| The Record begins filled with lo-fi cheer in the form of "Three-Way" and "California Girls," the later of which brims with indie-rock anthem appeal, but the upbeat bliss of the first two songs is dragged down by the morose "Old Fools." I was initially reminded of classic Velvet Underground by this track, however, not in a good way. "Xavier Says" finds some middle ground between the ups and the downs of the record before sliding into "Mr. Mistletoe." The album is lifted up again with the help of "Please Stop Dancing," "Drive On," "Driver," and "Too Drunk To Dream." By the time those three great songs are over the album starts to slow down once again, but this time the Velvet Underground comparisons are more than welcome and the record comes to a nice halt. While "Mr. Mistletoe" and "Old Fools" make me cringe every time, the killer group of songs in the beginning and middle of this record make me give it a high score, I would most definitely recommend it. | |