Distant Plastic Trees
| Distant Plastic Trees | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 28, 1991 | |||
| Genre | Synthpop, twee pop, indie pop | |||
| Length | 36:18 | |||
| Label | PoPuP, Victor, Red Flame | |||
| Producer | Stephin Merritt | |||
| The Magnetic Fields chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide |  [2] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10[4] |
Distant Plastic Trees is the debut studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released in 1991.[5] Lead vocals on the album are performed by Susan Anway.[6]
The album is noteworthy for its stripped down sound and largely synthesized instrumentation. Stephin Merritt himself described the album as a "small record, intentionally small" and heavily inspired by Young Marble Giants.[7]
The song "Babies Falling" is a cover of a song by The Wild Stares.
Release[edit]
Distant Plastic Trees was originally released in Japan and the United Kingdom on the RCA Victor and Red Flame labels, respectively. The album was released in the United States on the band's own imprint, PoPuP.
Merge Records reissued the album in 1994 as a double album compilation with the band's second album, The Wayward Bus.[8] The song "Plant White Roses" was omitted from the Merge reissue.
Reception[edit]
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide wrote that the first two albums "showcase sexually ambiguous lyrics, loopy arrangements, and the disaffected voice of Susan Anway ... But they also suffer from an air of inconsequentiality."[9] Trouser Press wrote that "the baroque pop structures of songs like 'Smoke Signals' are redolent of the classics Merritt clearly holds dear, but his impressionistic wordplay — which often alights on bracing, upsetting images — seldom settles into simple cliché."[10]
Track listing[edit]
All tracks are written by Stephin Merritt, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Railroad Boy" | 2:59 | |
| 2. | "Smoke Signals" | 3:28 | |
| 3. | "You Love to Fail" | 2:30 | |
| 4. | "Kings" | 2:15 | |
| 5. | "Babies Falling" |
| 3:18 |
| 6. | "Living in an Abandoned Firehouse with You" |
| 3:58 |
| 7. | "Tar-Heel Boy" | 2:26 | |
| 8. | "Falling in Love with the Wolfboy" | 4:05 | |
| 9. | "Josephine" | 3:08 | |
| 10. | "100,000 Fireflies" | 3:20 | |
| 11. | "Plant White Roses" | 4:52 |
Personnel[edit]
- Stephin Merritt – songwriting, instrumentation and production
- Additional personnel
- Susan Anway – lead vocals
- Ken Michaels – engineering
- Wendy Smith – album cover
- Art Daly – insert photo
References[edit]
- ^ Orens, Geoff. "Distant Plastic Trees – Magnetic Fields". AllMusic. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "Magnetic Fields: Distant Plastic Trees". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 5. MUZE. p. 436.
- ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ "Magnetic Fields | Biography & History". AllMusic.
- ^ Buckley, Peter (November 13, 2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781843531050 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Stephin Merritt". The A.V. Club. 4 June 1997.
- ^ "The Magnetic Fields: The Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees (Reissue)". PopMatters. December 21, 2016.
- ^ The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 510.
- ^ "Magnetic Fields". Trouser Press. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
