Standard procedure dictates that once you conquer, you move on to unexplored territory. Stephen Merritt, along with his long-standing company who play as The Magnetic Fields, know this too well, and from this point forward will linger on one style no more! As we have previously reported, after successfully aping The Jesus and Mary Chain's sonic pop bliss with Distortion, the beloved band will release an altogether different side of their indie vision come the New Year. If anyone has the ability, the ingenuity, and the goddamned right to continually eff around with their effin' sounds it is The Magnetic Fields, who will take a sharp turn away from the distorted reality of Distortion and head into an entirely acoustic realm with Reality. Containing no electric instrumentation whatsoever, and using "untraditional percussion instruments, ranging from tabla to tree leaves," this may be the most rustic version of The Magnetic Fields you will ever hear, unless the band decide to dig up Francis Child himself for a winter solstice mummers play with a side of Morris dancers and Aran sweater giveaways. Available on January 26 through Nonesuch, The Magnetic Fields' eighth opus comes with the usual trimmings: complimentary mp3 downloads with purchase of LP or CD, free signed poster by Merritt for the first 250 orders through the Nonesuch store, and bedside renditions by the group to ailing fans (with legitimate doctor's notes only).
Procedure also states that when an album is released, it is customary to tour said album. Never one to stick a thorn in the consumer's paw, The Magnetic Fields will play North America this winter including one date in Montréal. The band's FIRST EVER SHOW in Montréal. What?!?! Apart from some ill-formed bias against "the Frencher sex," how is that even possible?
02.04.10 - Washington, DC - Lisner Auditorium, George Washington University
02.06.10 - Montreal, QC - Corona Theatre
02.08.10 - Toronto, ON - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
02.10.10 - Boston, MA - Wilbur Theatre
02.11.10 - Boston, MA - Wilbur Theatre
02.13.10 - Brooklyn, NY - Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM
02.21.10 - Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater
02.22.10 - Portland, OR - Aladdin Theater
02.23.10 - Seattle, WA - Town Hall
02.24.10 - Seattle, WA - Town Hall
02.27.10 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater
03.01.10 - San Francisco, CA - Herbst Theatre
03.02.10 - Los Angeles, CA - Wilshire Ebell Theatre
03.04.10 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theatre
03.05.10 - Bloomington, IN - Buskirk Chumley Theater
03.06.10 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
03.07.10 - Chicago, IL - Harris Theater, Millenium Park
03.10.10 - New York, NY - Town Hall
03.11.10 - New York, NY - Town Hall
03.22.10 - London, England - Barbican Hall
As I said, news of this tour comes mere weeks since we last wrote sweet somethings about Merritt's merits. In the spirit of repetition, here again is the tracklisting for Realism:
1. You Must Be Out of Your Mind
2. Interlude
3. We Are Having a Hootenanny
4. I Don’t Know What to Say
5. The Dolls’ Tea Party
6. Everything Is One Big Christmas Tree
7. Walk a Lonely Road
8. Always Already Gone
9. Seduced and Abandoned
10. Better Things
11. Painted Flower
12. The Dada Polka
13. From a Sinking Boat
