The Magnetic Fields, more specifically Stephin Merritt, has been crafting little pop ditties for the last twenty years. With fanciful wordplay and a never-ending supply of culture clichés, Merritt’s catalogue hits every topic of daily life, just in a brief, general, tongue-in-cheek kinda way . Occasionally, such as on the synthpop album The Charm of the Highway Strip (1994) or on the classic 69 Love Songs (1999), his witty observations transcend broad stereotypes making a universal theme song. Other times his clever rhymes just feel forced, twee, and all-wrong (see what I did there?). On the Magnetic Field’s 11th album, Love at the Bottom of the Sea, Merritt returns to his synth roots and attempts 15 under-three-minute songs all in his signature style. Unfortunately, despite some classic, almost heartfelt “Merritt-isms” scattered throughout the album, most songs end up feeling like an ultimate Magnetic Fields criticism—a rhyming dictionary attached to a Casio sung by a depressive.
That’s a harsh assessment, but would Merritt disagree? One of the most intriguing aspects of Merritt’s work is that due to his monotone voice, his calculated rhythms, his ability to personify an exceptionally average sentiment, there was always the potential (the assumption?) that his songs are more personal to his audience than to him. This can only work for one of two reasons: A. Merritt is so psychologically wounded that the layers of irony and distance in his songs are there to merely cover up his tumultuously sea of emotions inside (unlikely) or B. his understanding of American cultural norms, ideologies, and archetypes make it easy for us to project our own reality on them (bingo). There were 69 songs in 1999 to associate with my love life, now I have 13 and the opener is about killing someone with crystal meth—Sorry, I’m having problems relating.
There are probably more specific reasons this album doesn’t work—the synths sound more outdated than retro, its less infectious and catchy, there’s a song on there called, “I’ll Go Anywhere with Hugh”—but it’s the relationship listeners will have to the lyrics that will ultimately leave them cold. Merritt is one of our most classically trained songwriters, and as such has always approached his craft more like a job than an expression. This left us wondering where Merritt’s passion lied, but often it didn’t really matter. Perhaps this is the first batch of Magnetic Fields songs I care as little about as Merritt did when he wrote them.
Grade: C+
Grade: C+
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