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Friday 6th April 2012
All Day BBQ Festival

Sparrow and the Workshop
6 Day Riot
The Nuns
Singing Adams
Y Niwl
Colours
Dignan Porch
+more tbc

The Windmill
Brixton
Price tbc

On Our iPod

Golden Grrrls - New Pop 7”

Chris Devotion & The Expectations - Amalgamation & Capital (album)

Trailer Trash Tracys - Ester (album)

Throwing Up - Mother Knows Best 7”

Howling Wolf - Complete Chess Masters 1951-60

The Ketamines - A Rotten Bond/1 Yr (from Oddbox Singles Club Pt 2)

Cardinal - Hymns (album)

Proper Ornaments - Taking the Gamble Out of Buying 12”

Darren Hayman - January Songs (album)

Various: Marshall Teller EP 12”

Latest Forum Posts

Album Review

The Magnetic Fields
Realism Nonesuch

Article written by Matt H - Feb 21, 2010

The Magnetic Fields - Realism

As an artist, what do you do when the odds are that you’ve produced your masterpiece? Give up and tend the garden, or ‘project’ around doing more or less what you like, knowing you’ve got the main paragraphs of your obituary (and the fact that you’ll get an obit in the first place) in the bank.

There’s been a fair amount of projectry for Stephen Merritt since 69 Love Songs, not least his last Magnetic Fields outing, Distortion, tipping its cap rather indulgently to the brothers Reid. Realism is bucolic and even sometimes courtly, but otherwise pretty much back to basics MF, complete with rotating cast of vocalists on the charming tunes. From the caustic You Must Be Out of Your Mind on there are plenty of harsh mots justes, broken hearts, bleak fun, erm a slightly sinister hootenanny and the regulation heartstopper of a moment.

Time will tell whether these really hit the heights that Merritt himself has set. And, unlike a couple of its predecessors, this record will get the listens while you find out.

Links:
http://www.houseoftomorrow.com/
http://www.nonesuch.com/albums/realism
http://www.myspace.com/themagneticfields