But for all the reinterpreting you'd expect from staunch individualists like Sebadoh's Lou Barlow, Wasps' Nests is surprisingly unified. Perhaps because the music and production is all Merritt's, none of the voices do much to alter the essential qualities of the songs' form and style. Every vocal performance, from the airy soprano of Heavenly's Amelia Fletcher on "Looking For Love (In the Hall of Mirrors)" to Merritt's own brooding bass on "Aging Spinsters," is moving but inconsequential to the music's identity.

Just as well. Wasps' Nests is designed to highlight Merritt, the writer and arranger. As he clarified last year on the Magnetic Fields' brilliant The Charm of the Highway Strip, Merritt is the rare pop composer to ingest all the greats before him--from Bacharach and David to Morrissey and Marr--and to applie their infectious melodic gifts and lyrical grace to the sounds and tools of the day. Merritt's weapon of choice: the multilayered metallic drone and zap of the computerized keyboard. And he slays us every time. --Roni Sarig

This is a great album to get if you have worn out your CD player with "69 Love Songs" and are thirsty for more Merritt.

PS - The Future Bible Heroes is 80s technopop overdrive (also recommended) while the Gothic Archies EP is weird, slightly inconsistent but still has some high points.


Lush synth-pop with hipper-than-hip vocal support.   September 2, 1998
 10 out of 10 found this review helpful

Pop Kulcher Review: Stephin Merritt writes sensitive pop-poetry, and his band, the Magnetic Fields, has put out some albums of melodic ditties with lovelorn lyrics and lo-fi (primarily synthesizer-driven) instrumentation. But far better is this one-shot effort as The 6ths (the band name & album title were chosen as a tongue-twister: try saying it out loud), in which Merritt turns over vocal duties to a Who's Who of alternative rock heroes (including Dean Wareham of Luna, Lou Barlow of Sebadoh, Mac McCaughan of Superchunk, Georgia Hubley of Yo La Tengo, Robert Scott of the Bats, Mitch Easter, Barbara Manning, etc.). So the album manages to sound a bit like a cover-song compilation, with Merritt's sweet melodies, quiet keyboards and guitars, and simple but moving lyrics being the constants holding the whole thing together. It's a lush treat that should not be missed.


No sting   July 9, 2001
 7 out of 14 found this review helpful

I admit it -- I never of Merritt before 69 Love Songs, but now I know why. The incredible songwriting and humor of Love Songs came out of nowhere -- there's nothing on this record that would even hint at it. The songs here are mostly flat, the singing incredibly tame and insipid for a bunch of "indie" heroes. Barbara Manning, e.g., should be recording children's albums. Three or four songs are somewhat memorable, but this is strictly for diehard fans.


one of the best "pop" albums of the nineties   March 1, 2004
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

These sixteen songs are so wonderfully catchy, so beautifully composed, so attractive in a good poppy way, that they'll stick in your head for years. I'm living proof -- I first heard these songs in early 2000, and I'm still humming "Movies In My Head." Four years. Believe me, these songs just simply never, ever get old! It's pretty weird, but it's completely true.

Stephin Merritt is a genius. He's probably the most prolific songwriter out there right now (or was, considering Ryan Adams... ugh) that also consistently writes compelling, interesting, and wonderful music. "69 Love Songs" is a great example.

For this release, he somehow found fifteen of the greatest indie vocalists around. Barbara Manning, Lou Barlow (of Sebadoh), Georgia Hubley (of Yo La Tengo), Mac MacCaughan (of Superchunk -- he also runs Merge Records, home of many Magnetic Fields releases), Mark Robinson (of Unrest -- he also runs the wonderful TeenBeat label), Amelia Fletcher (of Heavenly), Dean Wareham (of indie heroes Galaxie 500), Mary Timony (of Helium), and more -- including himself. It's just simply astounding.

If you have any sense, do yourself a favor and purchase this album. It's worth every single penny.


Gently overwhelming.   February 23, 1999
 5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Virtually every song on this album could stand on its own as a simple pop single, but below the surface lies a complexity of emotion. An underlying atmosphere of sadness colors most the tracks, but they are far from depressing. With a different vocalist on each song, it's like reading the private thoughts of a room full of alienated lovers. Each one glows in its own tragic light.