| Distortion | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 15, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | Mother West, New York | |||
| Genre | Indie pop, noise pop, shoegaze | |||
| Length | 38:46 | |||
| Label | Nonesuch | |||
| Producer | Stephin Merritt | |||
| The Magnetic Fields chronology | ||||
| ||||
Distortion is the eighth studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. It was released on January 15, 2008 on Nonesuch Records.
As the album's title implies, several of the musical performances featured are distorted by various means. In particular, the album's sound was influenced by the 1985 album Psychocandy by The Jesus and Mary Chain. [1] [2]
Distortion was recorded at Mother West in New York City. It was produced by Stephin Merritt and co-produced by Charles Newman.
No synthesizers were used to record the album; it is the second in a "no-synth trilogy", succeeding the 2004 album i and preceding 2010's Realism . [3]
Distortion debuted at number 77 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 8,000 copies in its first week. [4]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 79/100 [5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [6] |
| The A.V. Club | A [7] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A− [8] |
| The Guardian | [9] |
| The Independent | [10] |
| MSN Music (Consumer Guide) | A [11] |
| NME | 8/10 [12] |
| Pitchfork | 8.0/10 [13] |
| Rolling Stone | [14] |
| Spin | [15] |
Distortion has been well received by critics. It currently holds a 79/100 rating at review aggregator website Metacritic. [5]
All tracks are written by Stephin Merritt
| No. | Title | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Three-Way" | Sam Davol, Shirley Simms & Claudia Gonson | 3:01 |
| 2. | "California Girls" | Simms & Gonson | 3:00 |
| 3. | "Old Fools" | Merritt | 3:02 |
| 4. | "Xavier Says" | Simms | 2:42 |
| 5. | "Mr. Mistletoe" | Merritt | 2:59 |
| 6. | "Please Stop Dancing" | Simms & Merritt | 3:01 |
| 7. | "Drive On, Driver" | Simms | 2:51 |
| 8. | "Too Drunk to Dream" | Merritt | 3:00 |
| 9. | "Till the Bitter End" | Simms | 3:03 |
| 10. | "I'll Dream Alone" | Merritt | 3:08 |
| 11. | "The Nun's Litany" | Simms | 2:58 |
| 12. | "Zombie Boy" | Merritt | 3:05 |
| 13. | "Courtesans" | Simms | 2:59 |
The Magnetic Fields are an American band founded and led by Stephin Merritt. Merritt is the group's primary songwriter, producer, and vocalist, as well as frequent multi-instrumentalist. Merritt's lyrics are often about love and feature atypical or neutral gender roles, and are by turns ironic, tongue-in-cheek, bitter, and humorous.
Stephin Merritt is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the songwriter and principal singer of the bands the Magnetic Fields, the Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes. He is known for his distinctive and untrained bass voice.
69 Love Songs is the sixth studio album by American indie pop band the Magnetic Fields, released on September 7, 1999, by Merge Records. As its title indicates, 69 Love Songs is a three-volume concept album composed of 69 love songs, all written by Magnetic Fields frontman Stephin Merritt.
The Charm of the Highway Strip is the third studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released in 1994. It was the fourth Magnetic Fields album to be recorded, but was released five months prior to their intended third album Holiday, which was delayed for more than a year due to label issues. The Charm of the Highway Strip was also the band's debut release on Merge Records.
Get Lost is the fifth studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released on October 24, 1995.
Holiday is the fourth studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. The album was the band's third to be recorded and was intended to be release prior to The Charm of the Highway Strip through the label Feel Good All Over, but due to the label delaying its release, was issued in 1994 five months after its successor. Merge Records would later rerelease the album in 1999.
i is the seventh studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. It was released on May 4, 2004, by record label Nonesuch. The songs of the album all start with the letter "i" and are all sung by Stephin Merritt. The songs are also in alphabetical order.
Distant Plastic Trees is the debut studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released in 1991. Lead vocals on the album are performed by Susan Anway.
The Wayward Bus is the second studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released in 1992 by the band's own label, PoPuP Records.
Pieces of April is the soundtrack to the film of the same name. Written by Stephin Merritt and performed by his various bands, it was released on November 4, 2003 on Nonesuch Records. Three of the songs were previously released on The Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs, and "As You Turn to Go" and "You You You You You" were previously seen on The 6ths' album, Hyacinths and Thistles.
Memories of Love is the debut studio album by American indie pop band Future Bible Heroes, released in 1997 in the U.S., the U.K., Europe and Korea. Its accompanying booklet features twelve word puzzles and games that, if solved correctly, reveal the name of the band and the title of the album, plus the lyrics to each of the album's eleven songs.
Realism is the ninth studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. It was officially released on January 26, 2010 by Nonesuch Records.
Scratch My Back is the eighth studio album by English musician Peter Gabriel, his first in eight years. It was released in February 2010. The album, recorded at Air Lyndhurst and Real World Studios during 2009, consists of cover versions of twelve songs by various artists, using only orchestra and voice. It is produced by Gabriel with Bob Ezrin.
And I'll Scratch Yours is a compilation album developed by the English rock musician Peter Gabriel. Initially slated for release in 2010, the album was released on 24 September 2013. The original concept was that And I'll Scratch Yours would serve as a companion piece to Gabriel's 2010 covers album Scratch My Back. The idea was to give the artists whose songs Gabriel covered on Scratch My Back a medium to reciprocate – And I'll Scratch Yours would feature those artists covering Gabriel's songs. However, three artists declined to record covers of Gabriel's material. Therefore, three new artists contributed covers to the album instead.
Love at the Bottom of the Sea is the tenth studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. It was released in the U.K. on March 5, 2012 by record label Domino and in the U.S. on March 6, 2012 by Merge.
Partygoing is the third studio album by American indie pop band Future Bible Heroes. Future Bible Heroes member and lead lyricist Stephin Merritt was inspired by the 1981 B-52's album Party Mix! to create Partygoing, conceived as "a party album that only just happens to be largely about drunk suicide, aging, death, loss, and despair."
Obscurities is a compilation album by Stephin Merritt, released in 2011 on Merge Records. It consists of B-sides, compilations cuts, and various other previously unreleased material.
50 Song Memoir is the eleventh studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released on March 10, 2017. 50 Song Memoir is an autobiographical concept album that chronicles the first 50 years of lyricist Stephin Merritt's life, with one song for each year that he has lived.
Shirley Simms is an American singer and songwriter known for her work as a member of indie pop band the Magnetic Fields. She has been singing on the band's albums since her first appearance on 1999's 69 Love Songs, with her and Stephin Merritt alternating between singing lead vocals throughout the album. Previously, she sang on several tracks on the Magnetic Fields' 1999 album 69 Love Songs. In addition to her vocal work with the Magnetic Fields, she also sometimes plays ukulele for them. In the late 1980s, before he started the Magnetic Fields, Merritt and Simms started the short-lived musical project Buffalo Rome; the group self-released a cassette during their existence. Also during the 1980s, she was also a member of the Boston-based band Lazy Susan, along with Claudia Gonson and Therese Bellino. As members of Lazy Susan, Simms and Gonson wrote the song "Plant White Roses", which was later included on Merritt's 2011 album Obscurities.
Quickies is the twelfth studio album by The Magnetic Fields. The album consists of 28 songs, each of which is between 0:17 and 2:35 in length. For the album's conceit, Magnetic Fields singer and songwriter Stephin Merritt was influenced by the short fiction of Lydia Davis and the writing of his own book of Scrabble poetry.
