The Magnetic Fields have now revealed more details and the track listing for their forthcoming album ‘Distortion’, which they announced last week will be released on January 14.

The band’s eighth album and follow-up to 2004’s critically acclaimed ‘i’ will be preceded by the first single release ‘California Girls’ on December 17.

The Stephin Merritt led group’s most acclaimed work to date was 1999’s three volume concept album ’69 Love Songs’.

Merritt explains that the new album title is indicative of the sound for the new material. Every instrument (except the drums) was made to purposely feed back. Merritt says: “I don’t know if anyone has done feedback piano before. The whole record has feedback acoustic piano. We put the amplifier directly up against the frame of the piano and turned it up enough to start feeding back.”

The initial inspiration for Distortion was the Jesus And Mary Chain’s 1985 post-punk album Psychocandy. Merritt declares that his goal was “to sound more like Jesus and Mary Chain than Jesus and Mary Chain.”

The Magnetic Fields are preparing to play several series’ of short residencies in US cities to promote the new album.

However, Merritt says that the band will not be bringing the album’s feedback to the shows, to protect themselves from hearing damage! Merritt states: “We make records that can’t be duplicated live, and then we go out and do it completely differently.”

‘Distortion”s full track listing is:

‘Three-Way’

‘Courtesans’

Check out Magnetic Fields’ website for more information Houseoftomorrow.com.