Stephin Merritt – Obscurities

Stephin Merritt has described curating Obscurities an ‘agonising’ and ‘depressing’ experience, with most candidate tracks decreed obscure for good reason. As always, his dour demeanour is best served salted; there’s certainly nothing dispensable about the songs that made the final cut. The collection’s miscellany stands out in a discography known for cohesive artistic statements, but this affects the quality not one iota; peeking through his songbook’s neglected appendices is a delight.

The Magnetic Fields, The 6ths, The Gothic Archies and fabled unfinished musical The Song from Venus all make appearances, but it’s an eye-moistening version of Plant White Roses from pre-Magnetic Fields project Buffalo Rome that will have you wishing Merritt had added a second disc, meticulous quality control be damned. Few songwriters could hope to pen a magnum opus as interesting as this, let alone an off-cuts collection, making this essential listening for dabblers and obsessive fans alike. [Chris Buckle]