- Record Label: Merge
- Release Date: Jul 18, 2000
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This is much more melodic and poppy than most dance fodder sharing similar beats...
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Alternative Press[Stephin] Merritt likes to sing about dancing--'I'm Lonely' gives us good reason to join him on the floor. [#147, p.92]
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Unfortunately, the melodic acumen Merritt displayed on last year's Magnetic Fields opus, "69 Love Songs," is largely AWOL on "I'm Lonely and I Love It."
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Armed with an arsenal of keyboard riffs and Merritt's impassive baritone, the resulting sound is a velvety mix of '80s-era new wave, bossa nova beats, and melancholy pop.
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The music?s the problem. Given a typically goofy, urbane Merritt turn of phrase like ?You can find your own messiah/in the pit of a papaya,? Ewen crafts the most predictable and robotic of faux-techno settings. There are mildly bumping drums and sequencers, but no Hawaii, no magic and, most fatally of all, no melody.
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Future Bible Heroes frontman Chris Ewen just isn't a Merritt-caliber composer, and this EP suffers in comparison to the Magnetic Fields.
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A slender set of humorously coldhearted would-be club hits that celebrate hopelessness, freedom from tedious human relationships and numbness to heartbreak.
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An unadulterated fey morsel.
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Features Merritt doing what he does best: writing songs that are smart, funny, literate, and far catchier than anything on commercial radio.
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With the fabulously synthetic surfaces forming a cozy cocoon around Merritt's reflexive cynicism, the new FBH EP is a shiny, acidic counterpoint to the twilit wallow of [6ths album] Hyacinths.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 1 out of 2
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Mixed: 1 out of 2
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Negative: 0 out of 2
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patriciacFeb 18, 2006stephin merrit is always amazing