Stephin Merritt: Pieces Of April : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Critics' fave Stephin Merritt is the perfect guy to put together a quirky soundtrack for a quirky little movie. This ten-track set by the revered indie-pop merchant is composed of five new numbers (one, "One April Day," written specifically for the film while the other four don't appear in the movie) and five previously released by Merritt's band Magnetic Fields and his side project the 6ths. This is subdued, electro-licked fare hinged on clever, though never precious, songwriting. From the trippy "As You Turn to Go" to the Brit-invasion-gone-zomboid sound of "Epitaph for My Heart" to the light-n-loopy "The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side," Merritt pings out songs that become instant friends, the kind you like to kick back with.

ADRIAN ZUPP
(November 3, 2003)