i (The Magnetic Fields album)

i
Studio album by The Magnetic Fields
Released	May 4, 2004
Genre	Indie pop
Length	41:19
Label	Nonesuch
Producer	Stephin Merritt
The Magnetic Fields chronology
69 Love Songs (1999) i (2004) Distortion (2008)

i is the seventh studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. It was released on May 4, 2004 by record label Nonesuch. The songs of the album are connected by their starting with the letter "i", and are also arranged in alphabetical order.

Musical style

The album ditches many of Stephin Merritt's past synthpop and electropop influences, largely being led by guitars and strings. It was followed in 2008, by Distortion, and in 2010, by Realism, which were both also free of synthesizer instrumentation, forming the so-called "no-synth trilogy".

Album cover

The cover art, designed by Evan Gaffney, is based on Gravity in Four Directions by Fred Tomaselli.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Blender	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B[4]
The Guardian	[5]
Mojo	[6]
Pitchfork Media	7.7/10[7]
Q	[8]
Rolling Stone	[9]
Spin	B+[10]
The Village Voice	B+[11]

i has been well received by critics. It currently holds a score of 79/100 on review aggregator website Metacritic.^[1]

Track listing

All tracks written by Stephin Merritt. 

No.	Title	Length
1.	"I Die"	2:14
2.	"I Don't Believe You"	3:40
3.	"I Don't Really Love You Anymore"	2:33
4.	"I Looked All Over Town"	2:39
5.	"I Thought You Were My Boyfriend"	4:24
6.	"I Was Born"	2:01
7.	"I Wish I Had an Evil Twin"	3:16
8.	"If There's Such a Thing as Love"	2:57
9.	"I'm Tongue-Tied"	2:49
10.	"In an Operetta"	2:02
11.	"Infinitely Late at Night"	2:45
12.	"Irma"	2:23
13.	"Is This What They Used to Call Love"	3:04
14.	"It's Only Time"	4:25

Personnel

The Magnetic Fields

• Stephin Merritt – vocals, instrumentation, production
• Claudia Gonson – drums and percussion, piano, harpsichord, background vocals, arrangement on "In an Operetta"
• Sam Davol – cello
• John Woo – banjo, guitar, electric sitar

Technical

• Charles Newman – recording
• Ravi Krishnaswami – recording
• Charles Newman – additional production, mixing
• Jeff Lipton – mastering
• Vincent Giangola – additional editing on "I Don't Believe You"
• David Merrill – recording on "In an Operetta"

References

1. "Reviews for i by Magnetic Fields". Metacritic. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
2. Monger, James Christopher. "i – Magnetic Fields". AllMusic. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
3. Tannenbaum, Rob (May 2004). "Magnetic Fields: i". Blender (26): 124. Archived from the original on December 5, 2004. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
4. Browne, David (May 7, 2004). "I". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
5. Simpson, Dave (April 30, 2004). "Magnetic Fields, i". The Guardian. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
6. "The Magnetic Fields: i". Mojo (126): 93. May 2004.
7. Sweeting, Meghan (May 11, 2004). "Magnetic Fields: i". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on June 4, 2004. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
8. "The Magnetic Fields: i". Q (214): 106. May 2004.
9. Hoard, Christian (May 27, 2004). "Magnetic Fields: i". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
10. Greenwald, Andy (June 2004). "The Magnetic Fields: i". Spin. 20 (6): 104–06. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
11. Christgau, Robert (May 25, 2004). "Consumer Guide: Anti-Gravitational Boots". The Village Voice. Retrieved December 22, 2014.

External links

• i at Discogs (list of releases)