Holiday (The Magnetic Fields Album)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Holiday'' is the fourth studio album by American
indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...
band
The Magnetic Fields The Magnetic Fields are an American Band (rock and pop), band founded and led by Stephin Merritt. Merritt is the group's primary songwriter, producer, and vocalist, as well as frequent multi-instrumentalist. The band is named after the André B ...
. The album was the band's third to be recorded and was intended to be released prior to ''
The Charm of the Highway Strip ''The Charm of the Highway Strip'' is the third studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released in 1994. It was the fourth Magnetic Fields album to be recorded, but was released five months prior to their intended third al ...
'' through the label Feel Good All Over, but due to the label delaying its release, was issued in 1994 five months after its successor.
Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expand ...
would later rerelease the album in 1999.


Background

During the recording of ''Holiday'', original Magnetic Fields vocalist Susan Anway left the band, moving from the band's native
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
to
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
. Rather than search for a new vocalist for the band, Magnetic Fields leader
Stephin Merritt Stephin Merritt (born February 9, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the songwriter and principal singer of the bands the Magnetic Fields, the Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes. He is known for ...
decided to sing the songs he had been writing instead. Nonetheless, an alternate version of ''Holiday'' closing track "Take Ecstasy with Me" with Anway on vocals featured on the compilation ''Oh, Merge: A Merge Records 10 Year Anniversary Compilation'' (1999).


Music

''Holiday'' features a
synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...
sound, particularly one reminiscent of the genre's early 1980s heyday. Stewart Mason of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
compared the album's sound to that of ''
Architecture & Morality ''Architecture & Morality'' is the third studio album by English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released on 6 November 1981 by Dindisc. Inspired by religious music, the group sought to broaden their musical palette ...
''-era
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Meols, Merseyside in 1978 by Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals). Regarded as pioneers of electronic musi ...
. While the songs on the album are accessible and melodic, they nonetheless exude a "chilly tone" and fondness for what Mason described as "odd noises and unexpected accents." Merritt's instrumentation on the album consists of simply "a closetful of early
Casio is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It ...
, Yamaha and other keyboards," which Merritt layers over each other. ''
Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...
'' felt the album consists of songs with Casio keyboards as their foundation, albeit "accessorized" with "the unconventional bookends of Johny Blood's tuba and
Sam Davol Samuel Bradford Davol is a musician best known for his work with the indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. He is featured several times in videos for The Magnetic Fields, and in the opening for "Born on a Train", his cello is featured at the beginni ...
's cello." Doug Bleggi of ''
Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...
'' felt the album blurs the line between guitars and synthesizers. ''Holiday'' opens with "BBC Radiophonic Workshop", named after the electronic pioneers of the same name. With its
lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...
production and combination of synthesized and acoustic instrumentation, the 20-second track features an "oddly eccentric looping of tones". "Desert Island" makes use of fuzzy reverb. "Deep Sea Diving Suit" makes use of a jew harp-style sound. Len Comaratta of ''
Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...
'' wrote: "The upbeat, quirky, plucking sound associated with the instrument sails along as if it was bed music to the song itself." Stephin Merritt sings in a deep
baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...
voice. Ryan Schreiber of ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' compared his vocals on the album to those of Calvin Johnson. In the words of Mason, the phrasing of the album's lyrics "vacillates mostly between the poles of deadpan wryness and romantic longing" and, with their "striking imagery" and "
Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...
-level rhymes", mix mordant wit with unabashed romanticism.


Release

Though ''Holiday'' was completed in 1993, it took a long time for John Henderson, the owner of the band's then-current label Feel Good All Over, to release it on the label, and by the time the label did eventually release it in 1994, the band had signed to
Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expand ...
, which had already released their fourth recorded album ''
The Charm of the Highway Strip ''The Charm of the Highway Strip'' is the third studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released in 1994. It was the fourth Magnetic Fields album to be recorded, but was released five months prior to their intended third al ...
'' that April. The close release dates of the two albums meant that some magazines reviewed the albums together, which annoyed Merritt. It has also been speculated that this would have meant consumers would buy one of the two albums, but not both. In anticipation of the band's then-upcoming ''
69 Love Songs ''69 Love Songs'' is the sixth studio album by American indie pop band the Magnetic Fields, released on September 14, 1999, by Merge Records. As its title indicates, ''69 Love Songs'' is a three-volume concept album composed of 69 love songs, all ...
'' album, Merge Records re-released ''Holiday'' on January 12, 1999, alongside a re-release of the band's 1992 EP '' The House of Tomorrow''.


Reception

Reviewing ''Holiday'' for AllMusic, Stewart Mason described the songwriting on the record as "a huge leap beyond the first two Magnetic Fields albums" and felt that " ery track here is a winner."
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
gave ''Holiday'' a three-star honorable mention rating, quipping that it contains "more songs about songs and songs" and highlighting "Strange Powers" and "Swinging London". In a write-up for ''Pitchfork'', Ryan Schreiber called ''Holiday'' a "classic" and "definitely an inspired record."


Legacy

The intro of "The Flowers She Sent and the Flowers She Said She Sent" was used in an episode ("Nightcrawlers") of
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...
's '' The Adventures of Pete & Pete''. The song "Strange Powers" was used in an episode ("Forget the Herring") of
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
's ''
Bored to Death ''Bored to Death'' is an American comedy series that ran on HBO from September 20, 2009, to November 28, 2011. The show was created by author Jonathan Ames, and stars Jason Schwartzman as a fictional Jonathan Ames—a writer based in Brooklyn, ...
''. In 2017, ''
Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...
'' ranked ''Holiday'' second in their list of Stephin Merritt's best albums, and ''
Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...
'' ranked ''Holiday'' fifth in their list of Stephin Merritt albums rated from worst to best.


Track listing


Personnel

;The Magnetic Fields *
Stephin Merritt Stephin Merritt (born February 9, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the songwriter and principal singer of the bands the Magnetic Fields, the Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes. He is known for ...
 – vocals, instrumentation *
Claudia Gonson Claudia Miriam Gonson (born April 5, 1968) is an American musician best known for her work with The Magnetic Fields. She often provides the band lead vocals as well as performing the piano or drums. She is also the band's manager. Gonson met ...
 – toys and management *
Sam Davol Samuel Bradford Davol is a musician best known for his work with the indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. He is featured several times in videos for The Magnetic Fields, and in the opening for "Born on a Train", his cello is featured at the beginni ...
 – cello ;Additional personnel *Johny Blood – tuba


References

{{Authority control 1994 albums The Magnetic Fields albums Merge Records albums