The Magnetic Fields
Realism
A-
From the early influence of my parents’ record collection, featuring 60s folk-rock acts like Peter, Paul and Mary, Simon & Garfunkel and Dylan, to my later discovery of British folk revivalists and numerous modern folk artists, folk music has always been a musical staple of mine. Judging by The Magnetic Fields’ most recent album, Realism, it is a musical staple of frontman Stephin Merritt as well. Following the Jesus and Mary Chain-inspired Distortion, Realism trades feedback and fuzz boxes for more traditional folk orchestration, making use of instruments as varied as mandolins, dulcimers, banjos, accordions, sitars, flugelhorns and tubas. Musically, the album is full of retro charm and a survey of folk music across styles and eras, but in typical Merritt style, Realism is a concept album of sorts, thematically exploring—or perhaps skewering—the conventional view of folk’s lyrical sincerity.
