The Magnetic Fields: "Andrew in Drag"

Lately, I’ve been listening a lot to the 6ths’ Wasps’ Nests (1995), a Stephin Merritt collaboration made in ’90s heaven with the likes of Dean Wareham, Lou Barlow, Mac McCaughan, and Amelia Fletcher. This tremendous, surprisingly perky break up album reminded me, if I ever forgot, that Stephin Merritt is one of the best, most unique songwriters of his generation. And yes, Merritt is a true songwriter, someone who has honed his craft, not just tossing off words and music in service of persona. Other people can perform his songs and they are still distinctly his; in the case of the 6ths, ’90s indie icons seem to perform some kind of Merritt-meld, taking on his elegant, deadpan-yet-wistful delivery.

It would seem, however, that Merritt has become somewhat distracted in recent years, experimenting with different sounds and themes and drifting frustratingly away from the brilliance displayed on his opus 69 Love Songs (1999). It’s here we come to “Andrew in Drag,” the first single from the Magnetic Fields’ forthcoming record Love at the Bottom of the Sea, which is getting people all keyed up with its embrace of their ’90s sound. I must say, I’m one of them: “Andrew in Drag” sounds so much like a cut from Wasps’ Nests that it’s almost as though no time has passed at all. It’s a classic Merritt unrequited love song, with those chintzy-sounding synths and deep-well beats he favors. “A pity she does not exist / A shame he’s not a fag,” he begins, pithy as ever, “The only girl I ever loved was Andrew in drag.” The song is short and simple as can be, but it allows Merritt to show off his sense of humor, his gift for words, and his signature vocals.

It’s hard then, in this time of ’90s nostalgia, not to get excited about “Andrew in Drag.” Perhaps there’s another great Magnetic Fields record on the horizon; perhaps not. But very few songwriters can do what Merritt does, seemingly effortlessly, on “Andrew in Drag.” Even if it’s not where his ambition lies, at least he’s content to throw us a bone every once in a while.