The Magnetic Fields’ newest album, released Jan. 26 on Nonesuch, is a wide-reaching panorama of mystical folk, cerebral hootenanny and lyrical mastery that rides the spectrum from heartache to the spastic imagination of childhood.

Strangely enough, the album is titled Realism.

It’s hard to articulate Stephin Merritt’s wonderful capacity for adaptation and renewal. But if you had to encapsulate the philosophy of “Realism” in two lines, it would most likely be a couplet from the album’s first track: “If you think you can leave the past behind, you must be out of your mind/ If you think you can simply press rewind, you must be out of your mind, son.”

The realism here is that anything is fair game. It’s as if Merritt is Mickey Mouse opening up one of those magical Disney books that contains the band’s entire catalog of work and says, “play ball, boys and girls.” “Oh, but keep the songs under three minutes and don’t use any electric guitars,” he probably would have added. Realism is conspicuously devoid of “Distortion’s” reverb-driven and clangy guitars.

This doesn’t sound very realistic, but neither does the album. The central point remains: They are still the band they’ve always been, and yet they’ll never be the exact band they were at one particular time in the past. So for those who are looking for The Magnetic Fields from 69 Love Songs, you’ll just have to learn to enjoy The Magnetic Fields as they are now.

“You must be out of your mind” is a brilliant album opener: a sobering and highly playful folk song rooted in the 60s and 70s but well suited for the new decade, including its gorgeous use of cello. An operatic interlude follows, one of the few songs Claudia Gonson sings, along with “The Dolls Tea Party”, a strange tune while also happening to be an album highlight.

Then comes the unexpected “We’re having a hootenanny now”, a tremendously fun ditty that sounds like you just walked into a high energy bluegrass show where none of the instrumentalists seem to be smiling, but are all dancing groovy hoedowns onstage and obviously having a good time nonetheless.

The album is also part lo-fi. “I don’t know what to say” is a brooding and whimsical little tune that fades out abruptly and prematurely like your friend’s newest garageband-recorded demo. This is partially to meet the album’s stringent less-than-three-minute song limitation, but also a very overt attempt to be bare-knuckled.

“Walk a Lonely Road” gives us a taste of the deep patented baritone that was present on earlier albums, but here it is laid over an ethereal barrage of ukulele and acoustic guitar that paints a picture of some deconstructed Arthurian quest.

You’re probably noticing a lot of whimsy, and that’s because this album is absolutely jacked-up on whimsy. But it’s also quaint, pastoral, easy on the ears and a countless number of other things that you’ll just have to sort out for yourself.
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Catch The Magnetic Fields Sunday, March 7, & Monday, March 8, at the Harris Theatre. Sunday’s show is SOLD OUT, but tickets for Monday’s performance are still available on Tickets.harristheaterchicago.org
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