The Magnetic Fields Album: “The Wayward Bus/Distant Plastic Trees”

I usually detest indie pop like this: low fi, precious, sentimentally gloopy songs with detached singing and little or no guts to the music. But damn if this doesn't work in an odd, magical way. The songs don't rock for sure, but the melodies and lyrics pack a delicate punch that can be either soothing, cathartic or just bittersweet. Songs for after the breakup with the love of your life.

I won't go into what everyone has already said about Stephen Merritt and who he is and all, but I WILL say that Merritt's 'poor production' on this album was intentional. It gives the album a warm, personal feel, which would be totally destroyed if the electric instruments were left in their pure, harsh forms. He processes and reprocesses them until they are rough, the dead opposite of the intent behind the instruments themselves. As a result, they are friendly to us.

The female vocals are representative of what one can expect to find in 'indie' music... they don't have the melodramatic passion of what is expected from mainstream music, but the almost monotone, unwavering voice on this album complements the electronic nature of it. She sings slong, not sings over the music. As a result, we have a beautiful and unexpected merging of human and machine.

And who can say no to heavy experimentation? That is the only way that anything new ever happens. No, don't start your Merritt collection with this album, but don't discount it. Come back to it later, listen to it in the background, and it will grow attached to you inseperably.

This album was my introduction to The Magnetic Felds and, though I apparently may be one of a very few people in the world who feel this way, it has remained in my top three favorite albums of all time. All subsequent MF albums have been varying degrees of disappointments (though beguiling, nonetheless,) because of the bar this album set for me. Tokyo A Go Go is the only song I would willingly fast-forward through. Tar-Heel Boy I could also take or leave, but every other song is a stunner. The retro synths and "wall of sound" arrangements forge a distinct space that is both melancholic and disco and, most importantly, create a timeless frame for Anway's vocals, which manage to be simultaneously distant and urgent while conveying what I think are some of Stephen Merritt's strongest works lyrically. These songs shimmer with subtle profundity, longing and ache, playfulness and wistfulness. This is absolute poetry that operates on many levels, disguised as art-pop.

After listening to this album, one gets the impression that Susan Amway must be under strict orders from Monsieur Merritt not to show any emotion whatsoever. This can occasionally have a pleasant effect ("Railroad Boy") but mostly, it just grates. There are enough great songs here, however, to cover for it. "Old Orchard Beach" especially has some wonderfully intricate rhythms underneath the squeaking in the synthesizers, and the hilariously dinky intro to "Falling in Love with the Wolfboy" gets me every time. This is an album worth sampling, but I wouldn't buy it unless I were a completist (which I am).

The first two Magnetic Fields albums featured singer Susan Anway, who possesses a beautiful, haunting voice that gives Stephin Merritt's very pointed lyrics a softer touch. There are many outstanding tracks, and they're very fresh. If you're a fan of Merritt's singing, you may not like these albums, but if you're like me and appreciate Merritt's songwriting brilliance but find his assumption of lead vocal duties a mistake, this is the best of both worlds: excellent songs performed by a talented singer.

I know many people love Merritt's vocals and I don't mean to offend those people. It's all a matter of taste, and while I love his songwriting I don't care for his voice.