“The Magnetic Fields mastermind Stephin Merritt’s catalogue of work has established him as one of the great, diverse pop songwriters of recent years... and “Distortion” sits comfortably among Merritt’sfinest work.”—The Washington Post

“So far in this decade, The Magnetic Fields have put out only two albums. One came out in 2004. And our critic, Robert Christgau, thinks the second, released today, was well worth the wait.”—NPR

“On the Fields’ latest effort, Merritt channels the melodic savvy and wit that have earned him comparisons to pop bards dating back to Cole Porter into a chocolate box of power-pop confections, coated in layers of feedback.”—USA Today

Entertainment Weekly says “These New York vets have won us over again with their delectable synth-pop. Frontman Stephin Merritt’s poetic lyrics have never sounded as wry-or as sweet.” Likewise, Rolling Stone gives the album a 4-star review, calling it “Stephin Merritt’s second-best album, which is saying a great deal, ” and Elle praises its “intricate electronic-pop arrangements, hilariously lovelorn lyrics, and dark, melodic croon.”

The Magnetic Fields recently wrapped up a series of short residencies in several U.S. cities. The New York Times praised their performance at New York City’s Town Hall, saying “The concert included songs from various Merritt projects and in all of them the music was as considered as the lyrics. Details were exquisite.”

The band’s eighth album, and second Nonesuch release, Distortion consists entirely of three-minute power-pop songs and produced by Merritt. Every song and every instrument (except the drums) were recorded with waves of feedback that envelop every sound on the record. “I don’t know if anyone has ever done feedback piano before,” Merritt explains, “but the whole record has feedback piano. We put the amplifier directly up against the frame of the piano and turned it up enough to start feeding back.” The album also features feedback guitar, feedback cello, and feedback accordion to create what The Wall Street Journal calls “subversive pop songs.”

Distortion may startle some fans of Merritt’s wide-ranging oeuvre. Initially inspired by the upfront metal-machine drone and submerged Ronettes romanticism of Jesus and Mary Chain’s 1985 post-punk landmark Psychocandy, Merritt set out to take that concept a step further. He radically altered the entire sound of his chamber-pop ensemble (cellist Sam Davol, pianist Claudia Gonson, and lead guitarist John Woo, plus Daniel Handler on accordion) “to sound more like Jesus and Mary Chain than Jesus and Mary Chain,” Merritt says.

In 1999, the Magnetic Fields’ three-CD collection 69 Love Songs established Stephin Merritt as one of this generation’s most talented songwriters. i followed that break-through in 2004. Between Magnetic Fields releases, Merritt has released side projects and albums with his other bands, Future Bible Heroes, the Gothic Archies, and the 6ths, as well as soundtracks to the films Eban and Charley and Pieces of April (on Nonesuch Records). In 2006, Merritt also released a full-length collection of songs he had written to accompany Daniel Handler’s Lemony Snicket books under the name Gothic Archies: The Tragic Treasury: Songs from a Series of Unfortunate Events.

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