Holiday (The Magnetic Fields album)

During the recording of Holiday, original Magnetic Fields vocalist Susan Anway left the band, moving from the band's native Massachusetts to Arizona.[1] Rather than search for a new vocalist for the band, Merritt decided to sing the songs he had been writing instead.[2] Nonetheless, an alternate version of Holiday closing track "Take Ecstasy with Me" with Anway on vocals featured on the compilation Oh, Merge: A Merge Records 10 Year Anniversary Compilation (1999).[2]

Holiday features a synthpop sound,[3][4] particularly one reminiscent of the genre's early 1980s heyday.[1] Steve Mason of AllMusic compared the album's sound to Architecture & Morality-era Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark.[1] While the songs on the album are accessible and melodic, they nonetheless exude a "chilly tone" and fondness for what Mason described as "odd noises and unexpected accents."[1]

Merritt's instrumentation on the album consists of simply "a closetful of early Casio, Yamaha and other keyboards," which Merritt layers over each other.[5] Trouser Press felt the album consists of songs with Casio keyboards as their foundation, albeit "accessorized" with "the unconventional bookends of Johny Blood's tuba and Sam Davol's cello."[6] Doug Bleggi of Stereogum felt the album blurs the line between guitars and synthesisers.[4]

Holiday opens with "BBC Radiophonic Workshop," named after the electronic pioneers of the same name. With its lo-fi production and combination of synthesised and acoustic instrumentation, the 20-second track features an "oddly eccentric looping of tones."[2] "Desert Island" makes use of fuzzy reverb'.[2] "Deep Sea Diving Suit" makes use of a jew harp-style sound. Len Comaratta of Consequence of Sound wrote: "The upbeat, quirky, plucking sound associated with the instrument sails along as if it was bed music to the song itself."[2]

Stephen Merritt sings in a deep baritone voice.[1] Ryan Schreiber of Pitchfork compared his vocals on the album to Calvin Johnson.[5] In the words of Mason, the phrasing of the album's lyrics "vacillates mostly between the poles of deadpan wryness and romantic longing" and, with their "striking imagery" and "Cole Porter-level rhymes," mix mordant wit with unabashed romanticism.[1]

Though Holiday was completed in 1993, it took a long time for John Henderson, the owner of the band's then-current label Feel Good All Over, to release it on the label, and by the time the label did eventually release it in 1994, the band had signed to Merge Records which had already released their fourth recorded album, The Charm of the Highway Strip that April. The close release dates of the two albums meant that some magazines reviewed the albums together, which annoyed Merritt.[7] It has also been speculated that this would have meant consumers would buy one of the two albums, but not both.[7]

In anticipation of the band's then-upcoming 69 Love Songs album,[5] Merge Records re-released Holiday on January 12, 1999, alongside a re-release of The House of Tomorrow.[8]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Consumer Guide	[9]
Pitchfork	8.8/10[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[10]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	8/10[11]

Stewart Mason of AllMusic rated the album four stars out of five, commenting that "[the] songwriting is a huge leap beyond the first two Magnetic Fields albums" and felt that "[e]very track here is a winner."[3] Robert Christgau gave the song a three-star honorable mention rating, quipping the album contains "more songs about songs and songs" and highlighted "Strange Powers" and "Swinging London".[9] Ryan Schreiber of Pitchfork called the album a "classic" and "definitely an inspired record."[5]

The intro of "The Flowers She Sent and the Flowers She Said She Sent" was used in an episode ("Nightcrawlers") of Nickelodeon's The Adventures of Pete & Pete. The song "Strange Powers" was used in an episode ("Forget the Herring") of HBO's Bored to Death.

In 2017, Exclaim! ranked Holiday second in their list of Stephen Merritt's best albums,[3] and Stereogum ranked Holiday fifth in their list of Stephin Merritt albums rated from worst to best.[4]

All tracks are written by Stephin Merritt.

The Magnetic Fields

• Stephin Merritt – vocals, instrumentation
• Claudia Gonson – toys and management
• Sam Davol – cello

Additional personnel

• Johny Blood – tuba