The Magnetic Fields Album: “The House of Tomorrow [EP]”

House of tomorrow is a must buy if only for one song: Love Goes Home to Paris in the Spring. The first time I heard it, on a 45, I cried, as did everyone else in the room. Sure it's another patented Stephin Merritt heart break/love song, but the tone is more final and certain compared to later songs: "I've had enough/you never give me anything/Don't you know love/goes home to paris in the spring?"

When this EP first came out (as a 7" - it WAS definitely a good value when it was originally released, don't blame Merritt & co for changes in technology) it was described by the band as their 'loop song' ep -- each song is comprised of a single loop, repeated over and over and over, on analog instruments. At the time this was downright revolutionary for them, as they had not previously recorded with live instruments. They occasionally return to this loop format, but not nearly as effectively as on this recording.

those being Young and Insane and Alien Being, which are as life-changing as anything the Magnetics have done, and that's saying a lot. The other 3 tunes are pleasant enough but unspectacular in my opinion. This is a must-have for any Fields fan or collector of sublimely depressing pop perfection.

If you measure how good an album is by the play time, Im guessing your playlist is made up of ...Stairway to Heaven, Heard It Thru the Grapevine and American Pie. Dont get me wrong, these three amazingly long songs are SUPER , but there are some really tasty tunes out there under 10 minutes long. This CD is holding 5 prime examples.... At one time I lived in a really small town and the big treat would be to go to chapel hill and hang out for a few days with pals. So me and my pals would pile into the car with snacks and soda and mix tapes and books and just drive and drive in hopes that something fun and exciting would happen. My friend patty had sent me a copy of a seven inch single that contained most of the songs on this album, and when we heard the amazing sound of Stephin Merrit and his brood it just blew us away. The first track on this CD is Young and Insane, and it instantly became our theme song. We would rewind again and again to hear the haunting lyrics ... "We're young and insane and we're running away for the summer..." It was just perfect. The other songs have the same hauntingly fun sound that you have grown to love the Magnetic Fields for.

If you arent familiar with the magnetic fields, think of Cocteau Twins singing Phil Spector tunes. Its like a familiar warm blanket washed in a new sweet detergent. What could be better? Amazingly beautiful and fun stuff.

Despite this ep having 5 songs, the playing time barely manages 12 minutes - not good value at the price. The songs, of course, are up to the usual Merritt standard, but it would have been better value for money if he'd included them on another of his albums (stylistically, there's not much to differentiate them from his other works). For avid fans only.