Revisiting his favorite subject with his main band, Stephin Merritt delivers 15 synth-pop exercises, all 2:39 or under, savoring love in all its twisted flavors. A straight dude falls for another man in sugary harmony ("Andrew in Drag"), a religious babe cock-blocks her own boyfriend over electro-sputters ("God Wants Us to Wait"), and jealousy blooms every where. The humor wouldn't be as sharp if the arrangements didn't set up the jokes. And while the Magnetic Fields pose as indie rockers, internal rhymes like "Let Laramie take care o' me till they bury me" suggest they've learned something from rappers and honky-tonkers, too.

Listen to "Andrew in Drag":

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• Photos: Random Notes

“My President”

Young Jeezy teams up with Nas on this track, in which he compare his own success with the idea of an African-American winning the Democratic Party's nomination in the 2008 presidential election. "When I pulled up in my car, that s--- was unbelievable to people in my neighborhood because they were like, 'We grew up with him. How the hell did he accomplish this?'" he told Rolling Stone. "I feel like it was the same way with Obama. I grew up all this time, but I've never seen a black man this close to running this country."