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The Magnetic Fields & The Tender Trap

@ Royal Northern College Of Music, Manchester, 27 April 2012
4 stars

by Gareth Ware

The Magnetic Fields

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Some things are always a given, be it that it's raining in Manchester or that The Magnetic Fields are in town at the Royal Northern College Of Music to give what on paper promises to be another peerless whirlwind tour of their back catalogue. Perched on the edge of the RNCM's cavernous stage, Tender Trap (led by erstwhile indie heroine and Office Of Fair Trade's chief economist Amelia Fletcher) make a curious, almost bashful, spectacle. Things soon change when they unleash their distinct brand of Byrdsian jangle-pop. Theirs is a world obsessed with the finer points of pop minutiae, whether it be the title track of their last album Dansette Dansette, or material off their forthcoming new record that references a musical manifesto (Plan 1) or the ode to musical accoutrements that define a relationship (Memorabilia). Energetic and intelligent, they warm the crowd up nicely for that main draw.

Arriving on stage with Claudia Gonson, Sam Davol, John Woo and Shirley Simms, Stephin Merritt is in a wantonly mischievous mood from the outset, drawling a suitably impish greeting of "Good evening, Liverpool!". Visibly relaxed, he can more often than not be found singing with hands in pockets and legs slightly splayed. It's an atmosphere that permeates the entire performance, with the group at ease throughout, concluding in that most unlikely of things, a Merritt practical joke. Marching purposefully off a stage that's liberally bedecked in props from the RNCM's store cupboard just as curio Plant White Roses is about to kick in he leaves the stage abruptly, confusing band and audience alike. Upon his return he strides casually back onstage with - but of course - a full-sized pickaxe draped nonchalantly over his shoulder. Later on, an audience member's SOS-style text alert is greeted by Sam Davol throwing a ship's lifebelt to stage centre.

Perhaps it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to find the band in such jovial spirits. Their recent work has demonstrated an uncanny knack for humorous songwriting, and it's tracks from most recent album Love At The Bottom Of The Sea which comes across as the most impressive. The reasons for The Magnetic Fields' acoustic performances are well documented, and in an evening of near-faultless pastoral pop the reconfiguration of the mainly synth-led material is an undeniable achievement, especially when it comes to recent single Andrew In Drag and album track Your Girlfriend's Face. Naturally, old favourites also surface, with a jaunty Chicken With Its Head Cut Off and a stark, almost haunting Busby Berkley Dreams sitting alongside pre-69 Love Songs material such as Smoke & Mirrors and the strangely mournful Swinging Manchester. Special mention should go out to an affecting, arresting version of It's Only Time, and an equally memorable All My Little Words.

As the immaculately attired masses file out of the RNCM's equally pristine, vast lobby and into the famous Manchester rain once more, The Magnetic Fields have more than lived up to their reputation. Deftly weaving through their prolific back catalogue, they've produced a spellbinding evening that shows off their songwriting talents comprehensively. Superb.

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