A man can only wield a ukulele for so long before he runs back to the electric guitar. Anyone who thought Stephin Merritt was lost to NPR and Chinese operettas after signing to the Nonesuch label in 2002 will delight in the literally titled Distortion, which sounds like Merritt got caught up in the excitement of the recent Jesus And Mary Chain reunion. On the surface, the sonic atmosphere is the only thematic thread here, unusual for Merritt, who never sets pen to paper without a concept in mind. Most of the songs are about loathing—of both the self (“Too Drunk To Dream”) and others (anti-OC anthem “California Girls”).
But it’s the LP’s running order that reveals a loose narrative. Merritt spends most of the first two-thirds of Distortion repelling all those around him (“Mr. Mistletoe,” “Please Stop Dancing”) before a wave of regret hits (“I’ll Dream Alone”) and he spends the final three songs equally fascinated and frustrated with the emotional detachment of others. Naturally, he uses the most extreme examples possible: a zombie’s lover, a nun fantasizing about being a sex worker and a musing on the carefree life of a courtesan. Longtime Magnetic Fields fans will welcome back the vocal presence of drummer Claudia Gonson, who was shut out of 2004’s i. Whether Merritt’s return to lo-fi will fly at Lincoln Center remains to be seen, but his melodic mastery is never in question.
—Michael Barclay
