Magnetic Fields Break Four-Year Road Hiatus
Eccentric pop songwriter Stephin Merritt will end a touring drought next month when his band, the Magnetic Fields, hits the road for the first time in four years. The 10-date tour in support of the upcoming 69 Love Songs will kick off on Sept. 9 at the Knitting Factory in New York and wind down on Sept. 25 at Spaceland in Los Angeles.
Formed in the early '90s by Merritt, the Magnetic Fields are, in essence, a one-man band augmented by guest musicians who drop in to shade Merritt's synth-pop recordings with tubas, cellos and percussion.
Mixing an obsession with the sugary pop of bands such as Swedish quartet Abba with darkly humorous lyrics, Merritt has released five full-length albums under the name Magnetic Fields.
Known for his moody baritone, Merritt has spread his melancholic pop sensibility across a number of other side projects for the past decade, including the 6ths, Future Bible Heroes and the Gothic Archies.
The Magnetic Fields achieved their greatest fame with the wistful college-radio pop hit "100,000 Fireflies," from the album Distant Plastic Trees.
The group's first new album in over four years, 69 Love Songs, is due out in late August as a three-CD box set.
Magnetic Fields Tour Dates:
Sept. 9-10; New York, N.Y.; Knitting Factory
Sept. 15; Toronto, Ontario; Lee's Palace
Sept. 16; Detroit, Mich.; Magic Stick
Sept. 17; Chicago, Ill.; Double Door
Sept. 18; Oberlin, Ohio; The Dionysus
Sept. 21; Seattle, Wash.; Crocodile Cafe
Sept. 22; Portland, Ore.; Aladdin Theatre
Sept. 24; San Francisco, Calif.; Great American Music Hall
Sept. 25; Los Angeles, Calif.; Spaceland