The Magnetic Fields: “69 Love Songs” (Album Review)

Genres: Indie Pop, Chamber Pop, Synthpop,

        For an album as ambitious as 69 Love Songs, there’s a sense of carefreeness present throughout the album. Even though many songs are straightforwardly love songs, there are also satirical tracks, like “A Pretty Girl Is Like” and “Yeah! Oh, Yeah!”. This makes such a lengthy record less daunting, and easier to approach. Listeners can get invested and appreciate the quality of the music while not giving it too much importance. 

        With 69 different songs about love, problems of repetition and stagnation seem to be unavoidable. What prevents these problems from becoming crippling issues is how these really are 69 different songs. If there isn’t a complete shift of genre from one song to the next, there’s a change of the lead vocalist, tone, or anything else that presents a distinct thought. For such a specific album concept, The Magnetic Fields refuses to be boxed in. 69 Love Songs is a record that shows the impressive force of fearless expansion.

        Stephin Merritt is an intriguing figure as a songwriter, with a musical style that is unlike most others. His lyrics can range from emotional and pensive to witty and sarcastic. His songs can have simplistic melodies that convey a wide array of feelings. Merritt’s approach to making music seems carefully experimental, but not exactly precise and methodical. From the standpoint of the listener, we can recognize his creative expression, which is a force that resonated deeply with me. “The Book of Love” is as serious as a song about clichés can be, and somehow it works on the level of being a genuinely beautiful love song. The downside to Merritt’s songwriting is that the way he expresses himself doesn’t always work well. “Love Is Like Jazz” is a good example of this, being a mix of too many clashing elements that they aren’t able to properly support the song’s main idea. Working under certain constraints, such as writing 69 love songs, allows Merritt to focus on a topic unconventionally and using resourceful methods. This can lead to ideas that are too incohesive to function, but many times it creates opportunities to present material in ways that other artists aren’t even inventive enough to try.

        69 Love Songs isn’t the most efficient or streamlined version of the album it could have been, but that isn’t the point. Even from a conceptual standpoint, this wasn’t the primary goal. These songs weren’t made and put together as a form of emotional proclamation or articulation, but merely as a creative exercise. Still, the effectiveness of this is undeniable, as even some of the comical songs reach the heart and create a genuine response. The willingness to explore breaks down many barriers and allows The Magnetic Fields to operate with such a stylized creativity. This exploration is the record’s greatest strength and at times its biggest weakness, creating disjointedness. 69 Love Songs can be seen as less than an album and more of an experiment on the many different ways love songs can be depicted and viewed. 

Top Tracks: Papa Was a Rodeo, The Book of Love, All My Little Words, Crazy For You, I Think A New Heart, The Way You Say Good-Night, No One Will Ever Love You, Absolutely Cuckoo, How To Say Goodbye

Like A Lot: The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side, Meaningless, Acoustic Guitar, Sweet-Lovin’ Man, If You Don’t Cry, My Only Friend, Nothing Matters When We’re Dancing, Yeah! Oh, Yeah!, The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure, Grand Canyon, I Don’t Believe in the Sun, Long-Forgotten Fairytale, The Sun Goes Down, Bitter Tears, Underwear, A Pretty Girl Is Like, I’m Sorry I Love You

Least Favorites: Love Is Like Jazz, I Shatter, Love in the Shadows, For We Are the King of the Boudoir, Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long, Let’s Pretend We’re Bunny Rabbits, Zebra, Strange Eyes, Reno Dakota

Enjoyment: High 7

Critically: High 7

Arbitrary Number: 7.9/10