by Caitlyn Holroyd

From jilted lovers to romance enthusiasts, The Magnetic Fields are the quintessential soundtrack for the ins and outs of love. Following their successful albums “69 Love Songs” and “Distortion,” the band has announced their eighth LP “Realism,” will be released on Jan. 26th.

While last year’s “Distortion” was full of power-pop songs paying homage to the Jesus and Mary Chain album “Psychocandy,” “Realism” draws its inspiration from 1960s and ’70s psychedelic folk, using only acoustic and non-traditional percussion instruments like tree leaves. Singer Stephen Merritt wanted to examine what it means to be “real” in music by focusing more on lyrics and banishing electronics and plugs that lacked sincerity.

Along with a new album, the band will also be touring with stops in Montreal on Feb. 6th at the Corona Theatre and Toronto on Feb. 8th at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. In Toronto, both Rotate This and Soundscapes are reporting to have already sold out of tickets so you may be stuck scouring the net for some other means of entry.