The Magnetic Fields – Love at the Bottom of the Sea LP

Description

The Magnetic Fields’ synth pop-saturated tenth studio album arrives after a trio of more guitar-oriented offerings (I,Distortion, andRealism). While Love at the Bottom of the Sea does feel like an amalgamation ofStephin Merritt‘s epic69 Love Songsand his excellent work under the6thsmoniker, especially on the giddy and typically infectious first single “Andrew in Drag,” overproduction and a general (and oddly generic) sense of overarching silliness keeps the 15-track set from achieving the lovely balance of dirty wit and sincere heartache that made albums likeWayward BusandCharm of the Highway Stripso immediate and life affirming. Opener “God Wants Us to Wait,” a bouncy electro-pop parody of purity ring pathos, suffers from a grating, relentless hook andShirley Simmsterse delivery, while cuts like “Infatuation (With Your Gyration),” “You’re Girlfriend’s Face,” and “‘I’ve Run Away to Join the Faeries” feel like second-rate comedy rock songs as opposed to the bar napkin-composed gems we’ve grown so used to over the years. That said,Merrittcan still work his subversive magic, as evidenced by theIan Curtis-lite “Born for Love,” the aforementioned “Drag,” and the typically deadpan closer “All She Cares About Is Mariachi”, the latter of which manages to rhyme “Hibachi” and “Liberace” with famed ad agency “Saatchi & Saatchi.” -All Music Guide