Stephin Merritt

“Eban and Charley” is the first film of American director James Bolton, which was premiered in The States on January 02. The film obtained the Jury’s Special Award at Chicago Reeling Film on 2000. The film is about the sentimental relationship of an adult man an a fourteen-year-old boy; the result is a a “demonically pensive, Ingmar Bergmanesque work” according to famous film-maker Gus Van Sant.
 

“Eban and Charley” was shot with a very low budget, using a digital camera that gives the final result a documentary look, closer to the aesthetic norms of “Dogma” movement. But for a slight little detail: one of the unbreakable rules of these film movement led by Lars Von Triers is the non inclusion of incidental music. Fortunately, Bolton breaks this rule.

Luckily enough, as “Eban and Charley”’s soundtrack has been composed by Stephin Merritt, one ot the most recognized and brilliant pop composers of the latest years. Merritt is the genius behind names such as THE MAGNETIC FIELDS, FUTURE BIBLE HEROES, THE 6THS or THE GOTHIC ARCHIES. He’s got the knack of composing perfect timeless pop tunes, seasoned with acid and intelligent lyrics. This has led the media to compare him with Irving Berlin or Cole Porter. If any of you finds this going too far, we would ask you to listen “69 love songs”, sixth and so far last album by THE MAGNETIC FIELDS: a triple CD with, yep, 69 pop songs that definitiely raised Merritt. More than 50.000 copies have been sold only in the States; Spin magazine gave it a “10 over 10”. The album was on the top of most “best of the year” polls all over the world.

Leaving clear that THE MAGNETIC FIELDS is Stephin Merritt’s best known and most important project, we shouldn’t forget some of his other musical adventures:

-THE 6THS: under this name Stephin Merritt has so far released two albums: “Wasps nests” and “Hyacinths and thistles”, two volumes that can serve as a perfect display of what has been pop music about in the last thirty years: in these albums Stephin collaborates with some of the most brilliant pop singers of the alternative scene, such as Marc Almond, Momus, Bob Mould (HÜSKER DÜ, SUGAR), Sarah Cracknell (ST ETIENNE), Neil Hannon (THE DIVINE COMEDY), Dean Wareham (GALAXIE 500, LUNA), Anna Domino, Lou Barlow (SEBADOH), Amelia Fletcher (TALULAH GOSH, HEAVENLY, MARINE RESEARCH), Georgia Hubley (YO LA TENGO) and many others that complete a truly impressive list of top-class names, all of them well-known fans of the talents of Mr Merritt.

-FUTURE BIBLE HEROES: the first and so far last album “Memories of love” was released in Spain by Elefant. It was the first album by Stephin Merritt to be released in our country.

“Eban and Charley” (the album) is based on an attractive combination of ambient tracks and pop tunes; in most of the cases the intrumental tracks are very brief and very different one from the other: we can find bells, clocks being wound, marimbas, piano pieces, rainy storms or cover versions of traditional songs such as “Greensleeves” or “O Tannenbaum”. Tracks conceived as a soundtrack for the images created by Bolton, but that can be enjoyed by themselves too.

The poppier tracks are pure THE MAGNETIC FIELDS, thanks to Mr Merritt’s unmistakeably deep vocals. The catchiest track is“Poppyland”, thanks to its very immediate tune and its overlapped vocals; this is the sunniest and most optimistic moment of a mostly melancholic album.

Vocal songs in the album are stripped down and with very little ornamentation, revealing Merritt’s skills at writing truly moving songs only with vocals and guitar/piano. The sad farewell described in “Some summer day” could be a very good example. We should also point out the romanticism of “This little Ukulele”: Merritt needs slightly more than one minute to complete a truly beautiful song, really touching in its frankness.

The formal classicism in “Maria Maria Maria” or the clever tongue twister suggested by “Water torture” are two other interesting offers in the album.

“Eban and Charley” is an excellent catalogue of sounds and emotions that manages to get rid of the stiffness and hermetism easily found in common film scores. It also contains some of the finest songs written by Stephin Merritt lately.

Stephin Merritt discography in Elefant:

Stephin Merritt
ER-1093 “Eban and Charley” CD 2002

Future Bible Heroes:
ER-1055 “Memories of Love” CD 1998

Stephin Merritt discography in other labels:

The Magnetic Fields (albums):
“The Wayward Bus” (Red Flame)
“Distant Plastic Trees” (Red Flame)
“Holiday” (Feel Good All Over)
“The Charm of the Highway Strip” (Merge)
“Get Lost” (Merge)
“69 Love Songs” (Merge)

The Magnetic Fields (singles):
“100,000 Fireflies” b/w "Old Orchard Beach" (Harriet)
“Long Vermont Roads” b/w "Alien Being" &"Beach a Boop- Boop" (Harriet)
“All The Umbrellas In London“ b/w "Rats in the Garbage of the Western World" (Merge)
“Why I Cry” b/w "The Man Amplifier" (Motorway)
“I Don't Believe You” b/w "When I'm not looking, you're not there" ( Merge)

The 6ths (albums):
“Wasps' Nests” (London Records)
“Hyacinths and Thistles” (Merge )

The 6ths (singles):
“Heaven in a Black Leather Jacket” b/w "Rot in the Sun" (Merge)

Future Bible Heroes (singles):
“Lonely Days” (Slow River)
“I'm Lonely [And I Love It] E.P.” (Merge)

The Gothic Archies:
“The New Dispair” (Merge)

For more information, please contact Tito Pintado at the numbers above.