Marking the return of prolific singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Stephin Merritt to the band he is best known for, Realism is the third part of the band’s (fairly self-explanatory) ‘no synth’ trilogy, started with 2004’s I. Since the band’s early days as a synth pop outfit, The Magnetic Fields have come to be known for both their literate lyrics and sheer ambition, as best demonstrated on their most-well known record 69 Love Songs, the band’s albums are normally based around some form of concept (whether aesthetic or thematic) and will often hop between numerous genres. And Realism is no exception, Merritt claims it is an attempt to ’explore the sincerity of folk music’ – a genre they’ve briefly flirted with in the past – which, in other words, provides him with an opportunity to pour scorn and mock a whole tradition of music, and he’s in his element.
While the band have taken on numerous different personas, from Jesus and Mary Chain inspired noise rockers on previous record Distortion to Cole Porter-esque dandies thanks to Merritt’s witty social observations and his passion for show-tunes, the presence of traditional folk instrumentation sees the band act more as court jesters, hiding barbed jibes in the midst of sweet melodies and vocals delivered in Merritt’s rich baritone or in the girlish tones of co-vocalists Claudia Gonson and Shirley Simms.
Kicking off with You Must Be Out of Your Mind, a somewhat twisted sibling of I’s I Don’t Believe You, the first few tracks of the album see the band let loose and have fun (apart from ‘An Interlude’, rather oddly placed as the second track, which is pretty but rather inconsequential). This is particularly true on ‘We’re Having a Hootenanny’, which despite the ridiculous title and subject matter is delivered by the whole band in a manner that is equally joyful and sinister –the hissed delivery of phrases like ‘personality quizzzz’ gives them the air of brainwashed cult members. The humour carries on for the first half of the album up until their attempt at a novelty song Everything Is One Big Christmas Tree, after which, possibly sensing that they couldn’t top the madness of that song’s German sing-along, the proceedings threaten to become sincere and heartfelt, resulting in tracks like Walk a Lonely Road, and Better Things, both rather subdued and even quite romantic, and possibly the highpoints of the album. Despite a turn back towards the wacky late on in the album with penultimate track The Dada Polka, this mood prevails over the rest of the record, ending on the quiet sadness of From a Sinking Boat
Although it is a minor work, clocking in at just over half an hour, Realism is still a welcome addition to the Stephen Merritt songbook, offering the familiar mix of warm and cosy with bitter undertones – somewhat like someone offering you a sumptuous meal while mocking you about your weight – and, although it doesn’t scale the heights of the best moments of the previous two ‘no synth’ records – there’s nothing on here to rival I Thought You Were My Boyfriend or even California Girls – it doesn’t make as many missteps either and in tracks like You Must Be Out of Your Mind and Seduced and Abandoned, even develops on themes already raised in the trilogy, making all three records into a body of work that is a worthy successor to 69 Love Songs.
