Magnetic Fields

***Love at the Bottom of the Sea is the first new release with Merge since 1999’s highly acclaimed 69 Love Songs. The band will celebrate their new album with a North American tour that passes through SXSW in Austin, Texas. After putting out three synthesizer-free albums, TJE MAGNETIC FIELDS return to the signature mix of synth and acoustic sounds they established in the ‘90s with Merge releases such as The Charm of the Highway Strip and Get Lost. STEPHIN MERRITT has come back to synths with a fresh approach: “Most of the synthesizers on the record didn’t exist when we were last using synthesizers,” he notes. The songs—none over three minutes long—were recorded in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York with Merritt’s usual cast of collaborators: CLAUDIA GONSON, SAM DAVOL, JOHN WOO, SHIRLEY SIMMS, JOHNY BLOOD and DANIEL HANDLER. (STREET DATE - 3/06/2012)