The Magnetic Fields' classic songwriter Stephin Merritt enjoys working with themes: escape, country roads, vampires, miniatures. There is no official theme for The Magnetic Fields’ tenth full-length release, Love at the Bottom of the Sea, but Merritt describes it as a return to their roots-- synths! In it, he challenged himself to use synthesizers in different ways. “Our no-synth trilogy being over, we are now gleefully using synthesizers in ever more improbable ways, often sounding like electronic swarms of crickets and that sort of thing." Many listeners came to discover TMF via the 1999 epic three disc album, 69 Love Songs. For the band's 2012 performance at South By Southwest, they will be performing both old and new songs, bringing their signature orchestral-pop lineup of cello, ukulele, acoustic piano and guitar, harmonium, and oddball synths and toy instruments.