Magnetic Fields announce new album & tour (dates & presale)

Stephin Merritt has a new The Magnetic Fields LP on the way due via Merge Records on March 6th. Love at the Bottom of the Sea is the band’s 10th LP, and they’ll celebrate its release with a string of dates this spring that will include SXSW and two shows in NYC at the Beacon Theater on April 3rd and 4th. A fan presale has started, while Beacon Theater tickets go on AMEX presale Wednesday (12/14) at 11AM and regular sale Friday.

The new tour dates also list a NYC appearance at Barnes & Noble on March 8th. Stay tuned for more info on that. All dates are listed below.

The release marks a bit of a departure from Merritt’s recent work…

After putting out three synthesizer-free albums, The Magnetic Fields are returning 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.

Preorder a copy of Love at the Bottom of the Sea at Merge to get all sorts of exclusives (vinyl colorways, a signed poster and Magnetic Fields button) and check out all tour dates and the tracklisting below.

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the Magnetic Fields- All my Little Words

Magnetic Fields – The Book Of Love

The Magnetic Fields Love at the Bottom of the Sea Track Listing:
1. God Wants Us to Wait
2. Andrew in Drag
3. Your Girlfriend’s Face
4. Born For Love
5. I’d Go Anywhere with Hugh
6. Infatuation (With Your Gyration)
7. The Only Boy in Town
8. The Machine in Your Hand
9. Goin’ Back to the Country
10. I’ve Run Away to Join the Fairies
11. The Horrible Party
12. My Husband’s Pied-a-Terre
13. I Don’t Like Your Tone
14. Quick!
15. All She Cares About Is Mariachi

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THE MAGNETIC FIELDS – 2012 TOUR DATES
Mar 6 Hudson, NY Helsinki Hudson
Mar 7 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
Mar 8 New York, NY Barnes and Noble
Mar 11 Minehead, UK All Tomorrow’s Parties
Mar 14, 15, 16 Austin, TX SXSW
Mar 18 Vancouver, BC The Vogue
Mar 19 Seattle, WA Neptune Theater
Mar 20 Seattle, WA Neptune Theater
Mar 21 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
Mar 23 Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theater
Mar 24 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
Mar 26 Chicago, IL Vic Theater
Mar 27 Chicago, IL Vic Theater
Mar 28 Iowa City, IA Englert Theater
Mar 30 Toronto, ON Sound Academy
Mar 31 Montreal, QC Le National
Apr 3 New York, NY Beacon Theater
Apr 4 New York, NY Beacon Theater
Apr 6 Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center
Apr 7 Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center
Apr 9 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Apr 11 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
Apr 12 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
Apr 13 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
Apr 24 Brighton, UK Komedia
Apr 25 London, UK Royal Festival Hall
Apr 27 Manchester, UK RNCM
Apr 28 Dublin, IR Olympia
Apr 29 Cork, IR Opera House
May 1 Porto, PT Casa da Musica
May 2 Lisbon, PT Teatro Maria Matos
May 4 Murcia, ES Estrella Levante SOS 4.8
May 6 Barcelona, ES Sala Apolo
May 7 Madrid, ES Teatro Rialto
May 9 Oslo, NO Rockefeller
May 11 Gothenburg, SE Annedalskyrkan
May 12 Stockholm, SE Filadelfiakyrkan
May 14 Berlin, DE Passionskirche
May 15 Hamburg, DE Kampnagel k6
May 16 Amsterdam, NL De Duif