When Magnetic Fields member Claudia Gonson sings, “We twitter along,” on Realism’s “The Dolls’ Tea Party,” it’s doubtful she’s referencing the omnipresent microblogging site, rather simply employing a bit of old-fashioned slang. Indeed, singer-songwriter-lyricist Stephin Merritt has always savoured the fanciful and the antiquated with the relish of Ray Davies, and here, on his ninth full-length and final entry in the “no-synths” trilogy, his band sounds more rustic than ever. Gone are the waves of Jesus and Mary Chain guitar fuzz from 2007’s Distortion, replaced with chiming acoustic guitars, children’s toys and the rambling banjo of longtime member John Woo. No, Realism isn’t quite on par with the Magnetic Fields’ best (Holiday, The Charm of the Highway Strip, most of 69 Love Songs), but longtime fans will still find much to love, from the hearty German refrain of “Everything is One Big Christmas Tree” to the tuba-humped standout “Seduced and Abandoned.”