The Magnetic Fields - Distortion

What is it? It's a Magnetic Fields record with distortion, and that's exactly what it sounds like - and, happily, one for which Stephin Merritt obviously had his mojo while he was writing the songs to go on it. Despite the (relatively light) distortion which is variously wrapped around the guitar, percussion or vocal lines of its songs, Distortion is a very concise album, and the outlines of each song come through clearly (interestingly, there seems to be a higher proportion of female vocals than usual). All of the Fields' hallmarks are there, particularly the literate pop-ness and that characteristic mix of the sprightly, the grandiose and the lugubrious (another way of telling that one is listening to a Magnetic Fields album: one of its catchiest songs is called "Zombie Boy" - and that's that song's chorus, too).