the Magnetic Fields - Holiday

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the Magnetic Fields

Holiday

(Merge)

Stephin Merritt is a workaholic. He's in four different bands (maybe more at press time), all of which are entirely fueled by his own ingenuity. While other people may sing, play guitar, or - rarely - share writing credit on a few songs, a Stephin Merritt band is a Stephin Merritt band. This summer, his most prolific and best-known project, the Magnetic Fields, will release a triple-disc set called 69 Love Songs. It should be worth the four-year wait. To tide us over, Merge has reissued a couple out-of-print Magnetic Fields recordings. Holiday is one of them.

If you've been wanting to become an avid fan of a new band, the Magnetic Fields might prove worthwhile. As it turns out, this album is a fine introduction. It contains thirteen impeccably crafted pop songs that will never be popular. Which is a shame, in a way, because Merritt is a genius. He writes lyrics that read like poetry, and pairs them with oddly infectious melodies.

The instruments include tuba, cello, toy drums, and all the electronic apparatus that Merritt has cobbled together in his home studio. You won't be able to tell whether the riff in "Strange Powers" is a synthesizer or a guitar, because Merritt can make either one sound like the other.

Holiday's songs are about love and the various ways in which it goes wrong. The words disturb you while the lullaby-like melodies soothe you. Holiday was one of history's most perfect pop albums in 1994, and this reissue proves that it still deserves that title. - tony carnevale