A lot of stuff has been happening in the last few days, the most exciting things are my new job as a WSI and that I got two new CDs in the mail yesterday. One of them being the new New Pornographers album “Challengers”.
I have to say that the New Pornographers, while still sounding like themselves, have pulled something of an arrangement 180. Not really a stylistic change up, because it’s definitely instantly recognizable as the New Pornographers, but each song breathes as never before. As opposed to the ultra dense compositions on Electric Version, the songs rolls slowly on simple accents until it gets to epic speed with everyone doing their thing. The songwriting is the tightest it has ever been. I think that they’ve been around long enough to not write songs just to give everyone something to do, but write songs that everybody feels enough to just do their thing.
It’s really hard to pick out highlights of the album as all of the tracks I feel will be addictive growers but as for right now, the Dan Bejar penned “Myriad Harbour” is probably still my favorite just because of the inventive nature that the story of bored friends meeting in Manhattan. It’s so unbelievably catchy. I haven’t made up my mind about other favorites just yet, but I am definitely digging the epic build and slightly slower pace of some of the tracks. It’s like they know how to do a song, and they just hold back just enough to make each note that much more satisfying.
Failsafe is probably the most satisfying track for me on the record right now, it’s this album’s “The Jessica Numbers”, only this track rides on reverb and handclaps. The thing I love about the New Pornographers is that they have 4 vocalists, although Dan Bejar doesn’t really contribute to the songs he doesn’t write, but anyway the vocal power of the band is so huge that they can literally trade off the lead vocal at will. Also with the addition of Katheryn Calder to the band, the female harmonies are beefed up beyond comprehension. I mean, when you already have Neko Case anything more seems superfluous but when they both “Ooh” together it has such power.
Speaking of power, the tracks on this album are often strongest when they are gentlest, like “Adventures in Solitude” that starts of reminiscent of A.C. Newman’s solo work, before Neko comes in and makes it something of an epic alt. country song. The thing that I probably like about it most is that little cute melody and the line that I’m sure will stay with me, “We thought we lost you, welcome back.” Which perhaps, describes the nature of the membership in the New Pornos, as everyone is so busy, when they come back it’s something of an occasion. Which is what I could say when they release a new album, it is something of an occasion.
MP3 – Adventures in Solitude – The New Pornographers
