If you were to ask me what my favorite genre of music was I would have to answer folk music. Now I like pretty much every genre, but folk has a special place in my heart for its simple beauty and ability to convey emotion like rock music or pop cannot. So when I heard that The Magnetic Field’s new album was going to be a “folk” album I naturally began looking forward to it. When I finally sat down and listened to it however, it wasn’t what I was expecting. It isnt so much a “folk” album as it is an acoustic album.
Stephin Merritt, the man behind The Magnetic Fields has an interesting history as a musician. Back in 1999 he released the fantastic “69 Love Songs.” What made 69 Love Songs so good wasn’t the quality of the individual songs, it was the overwhelming nature of the songs together, all 69 of them. Realism, on the other hand has only 13 tracks. The music here isn’t very complex, but Magnetic Fields songs aren’t supposed to be. The quirky lyrics are still here, and so are the alternating female/male vocals. My biggest problem however, is that too many of the songs are forgettable. “You must be out of your mind” and “Always already gone” are the standouts here, but the rest sounds too safe.
That safety leaves the Magnetic Fields in an interesting place creatively. While many other bands seem to be expanding, Realism seems like a contraction. If this is what Stephin Merritt thinks that folk music is perhaps he should listen to Bob Dylan or Neil Young. It takes more than acoustic instruments to make a folk album, it takes soul.
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