Magnetic Fields’ Love at the Bottom of the Sea will be released by Domino on March 5. The band’s tenth full-length album is their first release of new material for Domino, who have previously reissued some of their classic period albums and Stephin Merritt’s recent Obscurities collection. The Magnetic Fields will be celebrating the release of Love at the Bottom of the Sea with an appearance at All Tomorrow’s Parties UK on 11 March, a performance at The Royal Festival Hall in London on the 25th of April, and a short tour of the UK and Ireland to follow.
After putting out three synthesizer-free albums, The Magnetic Fields are returning to the signature mix of synth and acoustic sounds they established in the 90s with releases such as The Charm of the Highway Strip and Get Lost. Stephin Merritt has come back to synths with a fresh approach: “Most of the synthesizers on the record didn’t exist when we were last using synthesizers,” he notes. The songs — none over three minutes long — were recorded in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York with Merritt’s usual cast of collaborators: Claudia Gonson, Sam Davol, John Woo, Shirley Simms, Johny Blood and Daniel Handler. The Magnetic Fields’ debut album Distant Plastic Trees was released in 1991. In 1999, The Magnetic Fields’ three-CD collection, 69 Love Songs, established Stephin Merritt as one of his generation’s most talented songwriters. That breakthrough was followed by the albums: i in 2004, Distortion in 2008 and Realism in 2010. Between Magnetic Fields releases, Merritt has recorded side projects and albums with his various 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. In 2006, Merritt also released a collection of songs written under the name The Gothic Archies to accompany the Lemony Snicket books, The Tragic Treasury: Songs from a Series of Unfortunate Events. In 2009, Merritt scored the Off-Broadway adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel Coraline. Domino released Obscurities, a collection of Stephin Merritt’s previously hard-to-find early recordings in 2011.Love at the Bottom of the Sea will be available on CD (WIGCD285), vinyl (WIGLP285) and digitally (WIG285D). Pre-order the album HERE.
Track Listing:1. Your Girlfriend’s Face2. Andrew in Drag3. God Wants Us to Wait4. Born For Love5. I’d Go Anywhere with Hugh6. Infatuation (With Your Gyration)7. The Only Boy in Town8. The Machine in Your Hand9. Goin’ Back to the Country10. I’ve Run Away to Join the Fairies11. The Horrible Party12. My Husband’s Pied-a-Terre13. I Don’t Like Your Tone14. Quick!15. All She Cares About Is Mariachi
The Magnetic Fields’ UK and Irish Tour Dates
March 11 ATP Festival – Minehead – http://www.artistticket.com/price.asp?code=603950&userid={A17E0784-2807-4EDD-B322-82EAE939C590}&filler1=artistticket&filler2=mainApril
24 Komedia – Brighton www.artistticket.comApril
25 Royal Festival Hall – London http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/music/gigs-contemporary/tickets/the-magnetic-fields-62337April
27 RNCM – Manchester www.artistticket.comApril
28 The Olympia – Dublin www.ticketmaster.ieApril
29 Opera House – Cork http://corkoperahouse.ie/ For further information please visit The Magnetic Fields’ website:
