The band behind 69 Love Songs, indie pop's most audaciously ambitious concept album, led by the deep-voiced songwriter Stephin Merritt.
MOODS · wry · romantic · melancholic · literate · wistful
BIOGRAPHY
The Magnetic Fields formed in Boston in 1989 under songwriter, producer, and vocalist Stephin Merritt, who has anchored the band's shifting lineup ever since. Early releases like 1991's Distant Plastic Trees and the 1991 single "100,000 Fireflies" featured Merritt's synthesized arrangements paired with vocalist Susan Anway, before Merritt took over lead vocals from The House of Tomorrow EP onward. The band signed to Merge Records in 1993, and a more traditional lineup later formed around Merritt, Claudia Gonson, Sam Davol, and John Woo.
The group's defining achievement came in 1999 with 69 Love Songs, a sprawling three-hour concept album that Merritt has described as a "publicity stunt" that reshaped his career. Later work includes a self-described "no-synth trilogy" (i, Distortion, Realism) and 2017's autobiographical 50 Song Memoir.
WHY THEY'RE COOL
69 Love Songs is a rare case of instant, near-universal critical consensus: The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop poll ranked it the second-best album of 1999, with poll creator Robert Christgau ranking it number one outright. Its blend of witty lyrics, melodic range, and romantic pathos shot through with humor made it a landmark, and the band still tours it in full 25 years later. Merritt's subsequent pivots—into feedback-drenched guitar rock on Distortion, whimsical restraint on Realism, and a 50-song autobiography—show a songwriter unwilling to repeat himself even after his signature triumph.
GEORGE'S PLAYS
George has played this artist 7 times.
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