There never has been much of a question that the New Pornographers are a cerebral power pop band -- A.C. Newman's songs dance around meaning and Dan Bejar deliberately turns meaning inside out -- but they always hit the gut instead of the head due to their propulsive melodies and sweetly muscular guitars. Such was the case up through 2005's Twin Cinema, anyway, but on their fourth album, 2007's Challengers, they turn inward, tempering their hooks and muting their colors, winding up with an album that emphasizes their admirable qualities first, with their endearing ones revealing themselves only after repeated plays. It's true that the New Pornographers' albums have always been growers, records that unveiled their gifts over time, but Challengers is their biggest grower yet, a dense collection of carefully constructed and brain-power pop where even the liveliest song, "All the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth," is a tense, nervous cacophony of ideas and riffs that doesn't grab hold -- it plants a seed that later blooms. Few of the other songs here are as fast or jumbled as that -- it's every bit the early Roxy Music salute Newman claims it is -- as the rest of the album dwells over slower, softer territory, or precisely written pop tunes where no left turn goes unexplored.
At least that's true of Newman's tunes, and he once again dominates the album, writing nine out of the 12 tracks. Newman has a knack for writing segments that are bright, hooky, and seemingly indelible, possessing the blinding rush of the best power pop, but when he's writing for this band, he assembles these colorful shards of melody in challenging ways, creating intricate mosaics where the melodies never quite lead exactly where they seem they would. Although the New Pornographers play these songs with an unassuming directness, Newman's pop requires active listening, especially here on Challengers, as it's built upon carefully arranged and quietly performed songs. Bejar balances these precious tendencies of Newman by indulging in his eccentricities. His songs aren't as detailed in their arrangements, but this only accentuates his oddness, where he can make either the slow, spooky crawl of "Myriad Harbour" or the delicate Brit-pop stomp of "Entering White Cecilia" seem equally off balance. As always, this does make for a good contrast to the essential sweetness of Newman's melodies (perhaps best heard on the openers, "My Rights Versus Yours" and "All the Old Showstoppers," the gateway drugs for the rest of the album), but it often seems as if Newman knows that he has a gift for these sweet melodies, so he undercuts that gift by having his melodies follow unconventional paths, and by having his lyrical meaning so well hidden that it often seems not worth the bother to analyze. So, this is internal music, best suited for solitary listening, but the odd thing about Challengers is that it has the inherent tension and messiness of a band, where harmonies float in and out and the group rides a natural rhythm instead of a click track. And that, more so than the seesaw between Newman's and Bejar's songs, is the true balance of the New Pornographers, because both writers benefit from having a band that plays like a band: while you may not be able to decipher these writers immediately, they sell their eccentricities as something that's quintessentially, endearingly human, and that talent proves invaluable on a record as subtle, yet rewarding, as Challengers.
.....if that title doesn't get me some hits I don't know what will... ha......and speaking of hits... Canadian supergroup The New Pornographers contains the likes of A.C. (Carl) Newman, Neko Case, Dan Bejar (of Destroyer fame) and more... They make sparkling, intelligent music for people that like some talent to go along with the hooks... I lean heavily towards the Newman / Case side of the NPs...
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I had a blast last Friday in Tucson seeing the New Pornographers. Seems like they played almost everything from Challengers and Twin Cinema. And then a fair amount of songs from Mass Romantic and Electric Version.They played so much it seemed that A.C. Newman seemed to be asking his bandmates what song to do next during the encore. Everything I've read about The New Pornographers says that Dan ...
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This will undoubtedly get me into trouble, but I have nothing else to write about at the moment, so here goes...I reviewed the New Pornographers album Challengers last week and found it excruciatingly dull. I don't actually like writing negative reviews, whatever people think. This was assigned, because Challengers is a huge indie record and people want to read about it. They probably don't...
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The New Pornographers recently released this new animated video for the Challengers track "Myriad Harbour." The afro-friendly video was directed by Mark Lomond of the Flourescent Hill directors collective, based in Montreal."Myriad Harbour"
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.....if that title doesn't get me some hits I don't know what will... ha......and speaking of hits... Canadian supergroup The New Pornographers contains the likes of A.C. (Carl) Newman, Neko Case, Dan Bejar (of Destroyer fame) and more... They make sparkling, intelligent music for people that like some talent to go along with the hooks... I lean heavily towards the Newman / Case side of the NPs...
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This spring indie heavyweights Okkervil River and the New Pornographers will be heading out on tour...together. The band's and their enigmatic frontmen will kick off the tour April 9th in Toronto, Ontario and trek across North America through April 22nd. But, let's just say you gush hard for Okkervil River's Will Sheff. Then you're in luck because the Austin, Texas rockers will be warming up th...
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So simple, so beautiful.I love this song.
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This will undoubtedly get me into trouble, but I have nothing else to write about at the moment, so here goes...I reviewed the New Pornographers album Challengers last week and found it excruciatingly dull. I don't actually like writing negative reviews, whatever people think. This was assigned, because Challengers is a huge indie record and people want to read about it. They probably don't...
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What does one bring back from one's travels? Souvenirs, postcards, photographs snapped here and there...For me, it was none of the above. Like Ulysses, what I retain for safe keeping are the people I met, the voices I heard, the conversations I shared, the transient traces of moving places and a coruscating cloud...Photo by Jozef D © All right reservedSomething to remember the fleetingness of l..
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Canadian rocker's "The New Pornographers", announce they will be playing the July Fourth celebration in New York City's Battery Park. In a statement released today from the "band's homepage":HP they explain, Haha, we fooled you America!We have just accepted an offer to headline at Battery Park on the 4th of July in New York. We figured that America has finally come to their senses and are havin...
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At first I thought McCain's VP pick would be a boost to Obama. No foreign policy experience (Alaska is next to Russia? are you seriously offering that as a reason for having international cred?). Not a swing state (why not fmr PA Governor Ridge?) Then. Revelations of her teen daughter being pregnant. Husband a former member of something called the Alaska Independent Party, which may be sec...
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!http://cfs1.tistory.com/upload_control/download.blog?fhandle=YmxvZzc0NDNAZnMxLnRpc3RvcnkuY29tOi9hdHRhY2gvMS8xNTIuanBn!Music aficionados (aka MOGgers) have been pining over the NP's new album since, well, since _Twin Cinema_ came out in 2005. Well in the last month or so, some tracks have surfaced from the forthcoming release _Challengers_. Here, I "challenge" you to another song. Sorry, I kno...
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New song, "My Rights Versus Yours," off new album, Challengers.
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Yeah, I'm ??totally?? in the New Pornographer's Fan Club, and I just got this email from them entitled "Fake Headlines 4.20":"Hello from the Land of the New Pornographers!Here we are again with some big news from our little band!Let's start with the record,Mixing is underway at the moment, and going better than expected!The album has officially been titled 'Challengers' and will be coming out o...
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I had a blast last Friday in Tucson seeing the New Pornographers. Seems like they played almost everything from Challengers and Twin Cinema. And then a fair amount of songs from Mass Romantic and Electric Version.They played so much it seemed that A.C. Newman seemed to be asking his bandmates what song to do next during the encore. Everything I've read about The New Pornographers says that Dan ...
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My favorite things about the New Pornographers is how Dan Bejar tries to fit in. I always wait for his songs because he's usually A) at his poppiest and B) still sounds like Dylan, with a blood transfusion from Bowie, singing a story song with New Porno's group-vocals and power chords."All the girls fall into ruin, dropping out of school breaking daddies heart, just to hang around."The new alb...
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Some of you may recall a time when Dave was really, really into Hootie and the Blowfish. Well, times have changed. The Late Show has - in the past couple years - become a venue for the likes of Band of Horses, Tapes N Tapes and, most recently, the New Pornographers...
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It's short, but it's sweet. This 40 minute program is available on my site for streaming / downloading. Also there's a freebie track by the Loose Salute, linked below.Check out new stuff before it hits the stores this week by the New Pornographers, Caribou, Earlimart, and Stereo Total.Stream it here. It's program #84.Playlist:1. The New Pornographers - Unguided Challengers2. The Brunette...
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 "Challengers")
