- Distortion (The Magnetic Fields album)
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Distortion Studio album by The Magnetic Fields Released January 15, 2008 (US) Recorded Mother West, New York Genre Indie pop, noise pop Length 38:46 Label Nonesuch Records (US) Producer Stephin Merritt The Magnetic Fields chronology i
(2004)Distortion
(2008)Realism
(2010)Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic [1]
Art Nouveau Magazine (Positive)[2] The A.V. Club (A)[3] Blender [4]
NME (8/10)[5] Pitchfork Media (8.0/10)[6] PopMatters (8/10)[7] Rolling Stone [8]
This Is Fake DIY [9]
Time Off [10]
Tiny Mix Tapes [11]
Distortion is an album by The Magnetic Fields. It was officially released on January 15, 2008 by Nonesuch Records.
As the album's name implies, several of the musical performances featured were distorted by various means. In particular, this sound quality was influenced by the 1985 album Psychocandy by The Jesus and Mary Chain.[12][13] No synthesizers were used to record the album; it is the second in a "no-synth trilogy", after the 2004 album i and before the 2010 album Realism.[14]
Distortion debuted at number 77 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 8,000 copies in its first week.[15]
Contents
Track listing
All tracks written by Stephin Merritt.
- "Three-Way" – 3:01
- "California Girls" – 3:00
- "Old Fools" – 3:02
- "Xavier Says" – 2:42
- "Mr. Mistletoe" – 2:59
- "Please Stop Dancing" – 3:01
- "Drive On, Driver" – 2:51
- "Too Drunk to Dream" – 3:00
- "Till the Bitter End" – 3:03
- "I'll Dream Alone" – 3:08
- "The Nun's Litany" – 2:58
- "Zombie Boy" – 3:05
- "Courtesans" – 2:59
Personnel
Performance
- Stephin Merritt - vocals, instrumentation
- Sam Davol - cello
- Claudia Gonson - drums, piano, Farfisa organ, backing vocals
- Daniel Handler - accordion
- Shirley Simms - vocals
- John Woo - lead guitar
- A. Klasinski, I. Pearle, R. Stevens - "orgiasts"
Production
Distortion was produced by Stephin Merritt. It was recorded with additional production by Charles Newman at Mother West, New York. Robert Stevens acted as assistant engineer. The album was mixed by Charles Newman, Stephin Merritt, and Tom Rogers. It was mastered by Jeff Lipton at Peerless, Boston with additional mastering by Tom Rogers.
The album design is by Evan Gaffney Design, with a photo by Marcelo Krasilcic. The Magnetic Fields logo was designed by Michael English.
Claudia Gonson provided management.
References
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Art Nouveau Magazine review
- ^ The A.V. Club review
- ^ Blender review
- ^ NME review
- ^ Pitchfork Media review
- ^ PopMatters review
- ^ Rolling Stone review
- ^ This Is Fake DIY review
- ^ Time Off review
- ^ Tiny Mix Tapes review
- ^ Christgau, Robert (January 2008). "Barbed Wire Kisses". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews//album/17891836/review/17925154/distortion. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- ^ "Realism | Nonesuch Records". Nonesuch Records. November 13, 2009. http://www.nonesuch.com/albums/realism. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
- ^ "Interview: Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt". The Village Voice. October 1, 2008. http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/archives/2008/10/interview_magne.php. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- ^ Katie Hasty, "Keys Still Atop Album Chart In Slow Sales Week", Billboard.com, January 23, 2008.
External links
The Magnetic Fields Distant Plastic Trees · The Wayward Bus · The House of Tomorrow · Holiday · The Charm of the Highway Strip · Get Lost · 69 Love Songs · i · Distortion · RealismThe Gothic Archies The 6ths Future Bible Heroes Memories of Love · Eternal YouthSoundtracks Related articles Discography · Strange PowersCategories:- 2008 albums
- Nonesuch Records albums
- The Magnetic Fields albums
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