The Magnetic Fields announce Quickies, a 28-track LP of bite-sized ditties

The Magnetic Fields announce Quickies, a 28-track LP of bite-sized ditties
Photo: Cesar Padilla

Roughly three years since the band unveiled its gorgeous 50 Song Memoir, The Magnetic Fields will return this spring with a new album, Quickies, which, like its predecessor, is nothing if not aptly named. A collection of 28 bite-sized songs, the album’s tunes range in length from 13 seconds to three minutes.

“I’ve been reading a lot of very short fiction, and I enjoyed writing 101 Two-Letter Words, the poetry book about the shortest words you can use in Scrabble,” frontman Stephin Merritt said in a statement. “And I’ve been listening to a lot of French baroque harpsichord music. Harpsichord doesn’t lend itself to languor. So I’ve been thinking about one instrument at a time, playing for about a minute or so and then stopping, and I’ve been thinking of narratives that are only a few lines long.”

The Magnetic Fields—which also features Claudia Gonson, Sam Davol, Shirley Simms, and John Woo—are teasing the new LP with “The Day The Politicians Died,” a particularly timely song that, in true Merritt fashion, is as wry as it is wistfully melancholic. Hear it below.


Following the album’s May 15 release, Merritt and the gang will embark on a series of intimate shows at City Winery locations in Chicago, New York, Boston, Nashville, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Get tickets here and check out the full list of dates below.

6/1—City Winery—Chicago, IL

6/2—City Winery—Chicago, IL

6/3—City Winery—Chicago, IL

6/4—City Winery—Chicago, IL

6/6—City Winery—Nashville, TN

6/8—City Winery—Atlanta, GA

6/9—City Winery—Atlanta, GA

6/11—City Winery—Boston, MA

6/12—City Winery—Boston, MA

6/13—City Winery—Boston, MA

6/19—City Winery—Washington, DC

6/20—City Winery—Washington, DC

6/21—City Winery—Washington, DC

6/24—City Winery—Philadelphia, PA

6/25—City Winery—Philadelphia, PA

6/26—City Winery—Philadelphia, PA

6/28—City Winery—New York, NY

6/29—City Winery—New York, NY

6/30—City Winery—New York, NY

7/1—City Winery—New York, NY

 
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