Together
The Canadian supergroup continues its shift from urgent, high-velocity rave-ups to mid-tempo tunes with an ornate, cinematic grandeur.
The New Pornographers began as a kind of busman’s holiday for a bunch of Vancouver-based musicians who had careers in other acts and a yen for power pop they couldn’t indulge as well elsewhere. But nobody releases a top-to-bottom classic debut like Mass Romantic if they’re not serious about making great pop songs. Ten…
The New Pornographers have historically come off second best in Canada’s entirely fictional Battle Of The Supergroups, with Broken Social Scene the blushing bride to their green-eyed ‘maid. Here, though, they stake a firm claim for parity with arguably their most consistent set yet – and, with guest appearances from Zach ‘Beirut’ Condon, Annie ‘St Vincent’ Clark and Okkervil River’s Will Sheff, also their most star-studded.
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On each successive album, the New Pornographers have become less off-the-cuff and more cerebral.
Trying to pinpoint the genius of the New Pornographers is a bit of a fool’s errand.
If the “evolve or die” philosophy of band survival held any water, the New Pornographers would be worm food by now.
A brief contextual introduction for the uninitiated: the New Pornographers are an indie “supergroup”, led by Carl “A.C.” Newman, and featuring alt-country siren Neko Case and Destroyer’s Daniel Bejar. The three primary members, as solo artists or within other bands, have released in excess of twenty studio albums between them, and Together marks their fifth
The New Pornographers - Together review: The New Pornos diversify their assets.