The Magnetic Fields - Realism

Realism is positioning itself as some kind of addendum piece against the Fields' last release, Distortion, a beautifully constructed Jesus And Mary Chain-influenced fuzz-toned jam which painted its portraits against the backdrop of a snowed-out unreceptive television. I think all Stephin Merritt fans understood that this was a one-off experiment for the group and that he would, in the future, continue experimenting with his baroque pop sensibilities and Leonard-Cohen-on-ludes songwriting.

And Realism does see us escape from the electric guitar clutches and back to quieter and far more expensive pieces of instrumentation. One writer compared this album to something older from their catalog, and that's fair, stylistically. But I'm afraid that Stephin has regressed too far back into his unintellectualized, innocent youth to write short, simple chordal maneuvers with even easier lyrics that would make the Black Eyed Peas roll their eyes. I'm overdramatizing just a bit, but in the end, I'm more than a little disappointed that we've forgotten how far we'd come.

And Realism isn't even an honest title. This album is draped with the same dreamy cityscape backdrop behind its themes of love and loss and longing that has always provided the band's raison d'être. It's not like Stephin's newest hit song is ever going to be, "In All Honesty, I'm Really Quite Content", but why pretend this is something it's not. Maybe because the last few records, 69 Love Songs, i and Distortion had that gimmick around them. True, there's no gimmick here. There's also no substance. Maybe that's why the stick figure girl on the cover is empty.

But there are some keepers. "Seduced And Abandoned" is a quaint harpsichord led waltz. It returns to its chorus after every verse, which is usually enough to make me believe that we're just wasting time. But here, it feels like a sing-along. Like we're supposed to be picking up more court jesters each time. And the last track, "From A Sinking Boat" is a simple folk drone. Like a sea shanty with its accordion. About a letter author writing his vows before the waves overtake him. Grab those, but know that your percentage of fun is much higher on 69 Love Songs. (2.5 of 5 stars)

Seduced and Abandoned - The Ma...