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The Magnetic Fields' 'Noise' from New York

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Distortion by New York City band The Magnetic Fields. Front man and producer Stephin Merritt uses feedback between electrified instruments to create distorted white noise — hence the album title.

Accompanying Merritt on the new album is cellist Sam Davol, pianist Claudia Gonson, guitarist John Woo and Daniel Handler on accordion.

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Ken Tucker reviews rock, country, hip-hop and pop music for Fresh Air. He is a cultural critic who has been the editor-at-large at Entertainment Weekly, and a film critic for New York Magazine. His work has won two National Magazine Awards and two ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards. He has written book reviews for The New York Times Book Review and other publications.