Cult 1995 LP by Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields, finally on vinyl! Technically a Stephin Merritt solo project (but technically, so is every other band he’s in), the record is purported to be a tongue in cheek tribute album: to Merritt, by Merritt; with Merritt writing and recording the songs and eventually convincing his indie pals to sing them. The guest list is a who’s who of mid-90s indie musicians: Lou Barlow of Dinosaur Jr. & Sebadoh, Georgia Hubley of Yo La Tengo, Mac McCaughan of Superchunk, Dean Wareham of Luna & Galaxie 500, Mark Robinson of Unrest & Air Miami, Stuart Moxham of Young Marble Giants, Barbara Manning, Mary Timony and more. Everything about this record is strange; starting with the fact that a major label released it, and on such a strange format (4x 7-inch boxset, predating the 7-inch boxset shark jump by more than two decades), down to the awkward name of the project (if you find yourself having a hard time pronouncing both the band name and the name of this record, don’t feel bad, it’s a deliberate troll by Stephin Merritt, or “every lisper’s nightmare”). This Captured Tracks pressing marks the first time the album is being released on full-length vinyl. CT boss Mike Sniper explains: “One of the cool things with owning a record label is sometimes you get to be selfish and put out a reissue just because you want the LP yourself. Luckily in this instance I know tons of people have also been waiting for this record to be released on this format, so I feel a bit more selfless than normal on this reissue.” Deluxe white vinyl pressing with printed insert, limited edition.

• first-ever full length vinyl release
• white colored vinyl
• printed foldout insert
• limited edition
• music label: Captured Tracks 2017

reviewed by frau farbissina 11/2017