American band, The Magnetic Fields, took to the stage of Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall to commence their epic 69 Love Songs, playing the first half in consecutive order, as part of the Edinburgh International Festival. The album, out in 1999, which spans (surprisingly enough) over 69 tracks, is renowned and adored by many a fan of the band, led by baritone vocalist Stephin Merritt.
The Magnetic Fields, who were named after the André Breton/Philippe Soupault novel Les Champs Magnétiques, were formed in Boston and have quite the discography for having only established in 1989, with their last album out in 2020 – Quickies. And this is not the first time that the band have played the entirety of an LP over two consecutive nights in Edinburgh, though the last time they gave focus to 50 Song Memoir. 69 Love Songs is an LP that however moulds to the Rituals That Unite Us theme, and one that spans across all the varieties of love, with metaphor, allegory and humour that each of us in that room commend.
Hearing live for the first time, ‘I Don’t Want to Get Over You’, ‘The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side’ and ‘The Book of Love’, there was a marvellous air of privilege to be sharing this moment with so many fans that clearly felt the same. As they rattled through these tracks there was an anticipation and stillness in the venue that would mean you would hear a penny drop, and their audience, like me, was clearly lapping it up. With Shirley Simms on vocals along with Stephin, we were indulged by it all, and there is a notion that, unlike the sentiments of their ‘Love is Like Jazz’ (in that you make it up as you go along), this band know precisely what they are doing.
For more on Stephin, Shirley and The Magnetic Fields, when they next tour check out their website: houseoftomorrow.com
Words by Keira Brown
