THE MAGNETIC FIELDS

Quickies NONESUCH

7/10

THE MAGNETIC FIELDS rarely release a song that surpasses the four-minute mark, so an album of “quickies”, split across five EPs, isn’t exactly novel. Ascribe it to leader Stephin Merritt’s love of a theme, a desire to huddle each batch of songs under an offbeat umbrella. To wit, 2017’s included one song about every year of Merritt’s life at that point. His 1999 album, , considered by many his opus, deliveredall begin with that letter, while 2008’s finds its tracks in varying states of malformation. Despite these varied themes, each album reflects Merritt’s knack for writing compact verse abounding with bright imagery and double entendre, tidy and tender morsels that are romantic, sardonic, and often both.