It's a somewhat pointless exercise for
Stephin Merritt
to release his work under so many different monikers (
Magnetic Fields
,
Future Bible Heroes
the 6ths
, and
the Gothic Archies
), but this little idiosyncrasy doesn't make the music any less gorgeous.
The New Despair
treads the same inorganic, melancholy synth ground as most of
Merritt
's other work, with equally satisfying results. That said, it is true that
title does have its own sonic identity: thin, distant guitars take over some of the space
usually fills with synths, and
's compositions push his pop experiments past the familiar ground of
and into more varied, adventurous territory. As a result, the seven songs on the record almost seem to have more depth and consistency than some of
's other endeavors. ~ Nitsuh Abebe