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Metascore
18 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayMost fan-docs are fairly remedial, but Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt And The Magnetic Fields is more sophisticated than the norm, in keeping with its subject.
- 80MovielineStephanie ZacharekMovielineStephanie ZacharekA smart, sophisticated songsmith in the tradition of Cole Porter, or an inscrutable, pretentious twit? In the course of his near-20-year career, Stephin Merritt - the sort-of frontperson for the indie-rock collective Magnetic Fields - has been considered both.
- 75Portland OregonianShawn LevyPortland OregonianShawn LevyMoves with lightness, verve and charm, which Magnetic Fields fans might find amusing, given Merritt's well-known morosity. But there is more than a suggestion here that his persona is just that, and that those sweet melodies he sings so dryly arise from a truly sweet core.
- 70Village VoiceVillage VoiceYet that dissonance is also what makes Strange Powers, a 10-years-in-the-making record of Merritt and his Magnetic Fields bandmates, so intriguing.
- 70He's hardly a cuddly figure, but neither does he come across as an intimidating presence. After all, it's hard to think of anyone in cantankerous terms after they've just lovingly described the history of the beloved old hand-knitted stuffed animal that is their oldest possession.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumEntertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumThe affectionate, bemused, structurally unkempt portrait is at its best capturing Merritt's close collaboration with his longtime friend and bandmate Claudia Gonson.
- 67Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesAustin ChronicleKimberley JonesYou didn't actually think Stephin Merritt was going to cozy up to the camera and reveal his deepest-darkest, did you?
- 60New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNew York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinAs in his pithy, tuneful songs-many written from different perspectives, in different styles-Merritt is committed to stylizing his misery instead of boring you with it.
- 40Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearStrange Powers works best when inadvertently capturing the toll of living in the shadow of a genius. When it comes to examining the genius himself, it's woefully out of tune.