Sunday Music Spotlight - The New Pornographers

The New Pornographers are something of an oddity in the indie music world. Made up partly of members from other successful indie acts you could be tempted to call them an Indie super-group. But they don’t like that somewhat oxymoronic moniker. They don’t see themselves as a supergroup at all, mainly because they’re not well known outside their native Canada. Whatever you want to call them The New Pornographers consistently churn out well-crafted pop.

Band founder and de facto leader Carl Newman started assembling the pieces that would become The New Pornographers in 1996. Setting aside his own band Zumpana, he picked John Collins of The Evaporators, Dan Bejar of Destroyer, drummer Fisher Rose, cartoonist Blaine Thurier, and uber-songstress Neko Case. But the shifting nature of the members meant it wasn’t until 1997 that they finally had their first rehearsal. And it wasn’t until 2000 that they released their first album, Mass Romantic.

Mass Romantic met with great critical success, as did it’s followup, 2003’s Electric Version. In between the band toured in various incarnations, sometimes with all of its members, other times with just pieces. While on the road they wrote and perfected numerous songs, making Electric Version a much stronger effort. The progression continued with 2005’s Twin Cinema. Their newest CD Challengers comes out on August 21st, and it may be their best yet.

The New Pornographers - Challengers

Neko Case’s flawless voice makes the album’s title track one of its strongest. Add to that a deep but unobtrusive arrangement and you get the sense that these guys really know their way around a studio. Despite the fact that it doesn’t really have a chorus or anything else that you normally get in a pop song “Challengers” just works.

The New Pornographers - My Rights Versus Yours

The first single from the album (as well as its opening track), “My Rights Verus Yours” showcases the band’s tight harmonies. It’s arrangement brings to mind ELO, with with repetitive rhythmic figures, dense instrumentation, and layered vocals. This a perfect example of what a pop song can be.

The New Pornographers - The Laws Have Changed

“The Laws Have Changed” was the first single from Electric Version. Its appearance in the Showtime show Weeds is what introduced me to the band. The song was so catchy that I had to look up who did it, and that led me to the band. Rock on Weeds.

Video for “Use It” from Twin Cinemas:

“Your Daddy Don’t Know” (cover of a song by Toronto), from the film FUBAR:

This is a great send up of 80s fashion. Check out Neko with the Dee Snyder-esque teased hair. It’s a good song too…

Links:
The New Pornographers on MySpace\
Official Site
Buy Challengers at Amazon