Get Lost

by

The Magnetic Fields

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Stephin Merritt refines the Magnetic Fields sound on Get Lost. Where on previous albums, nearly all the sounds were produced by synthesizers with the occasional cello or guitar. Here, many songs use things like drums, a ukulele and banjo to flesh things out further. This flirting with traditional instruments lead eventually to 69 Love Songs.

Again, the songs are perfect pop songs, catchy as anything, but still sounding unpolished and scratchy. And once again, they're all love songs, with Merritt using what seemed to be his favorite love song gimmick, the moon, in not one, not two, but three song titles! There's "You and Me and The Moon," "Save a Secret for the Moon," and "The Dreaming Moon." Merritt's songwriting is also typically smart and ironic, with the usual assortment of bitter characters in the songs themselves.

So what sets this apart from other Magnetic Fields' releases? Well... not much. Everything Merritt has written for the Magnetic Fields has been in the same vein but he manages to make it all sound vastly different. And on this record especially, the songs are upbeat despite their lyrics. It's not as immediately lovable as Holiday, but it's definitely closer to that than Charm of the Highway Strip or their first two releases. How anyone could not like Magnetic Fields is beyond me.

The album gets off to a rip-roaring start with a wall of synthesizers in "Famous" and Merritt nearly yelling his lyrics, "I know you've tried / I know you've cried / I know you've died / A little inside." But still the sheer loudness and throbbing of "Famous" doesn't prepare you for "The Desperate Things You Do," one of my favorites. It's beyond anything else the Magnetic Fields have released in terms of bitterness. It's almost hateful. I've done you the favor of putting the lyrics to it at the bottom of the page for you. The man is serious. If it weren't for the violent overtones, I'd say this song deserves a place in every discotheque because it's surprisingly danceable. Merritt has always taken a cue from old love songs, and more often than not, he pairs music that seems bright with some marvelously depressing lyrics, much like songs from some forgotten eras of songwriting.

The metaphors come kamikaze-style on the whispy "Smoke and Mirrors." Stephin gets cutesy-romantic ... on "With Whom To Dance." And then he pretty much holds the gun right to your face and tells you to dance with "You And Me And The Moon." Then it's time for a rare guitar solo love song attempt with "When You're Old and Lonely." ("When you're old and lonely and the rush of life has passed / Days go by too slowly and the years go by too fast") Tug at those heartstrings, Stephin. You know how.