The
New Pornographers
Brill
Bruisers
Matador
The Pornographers at their most pop, with a hint of electronica
for a modern touch, an ELO feel, with some of Sigue Sigue
Sputnik ‘s Love Missile F11, and the Xanadu soundtrack for sweetness.
Pop in TNP’s case means their second album Electric Version, my
favorite TNP album. Pop as opposed to the rock of Twin Cinema or Mass
Romantic. There are too many
synths for that, and not as heavy as the latter two albums.
But BB isn’t
lightweight by any means. Carl Newman has said in interviews that he was at a
happy, contented place in his life, and he wanted BB to reflect that. And that
is evident here, no matter who’s singing, or Dan’s Bejar quirkiness. Neko Case and Kathryn Calder take star turns, especially
Neko on Champions of Red Wine and Kathryn on Dancehall Domine, both very
upbeat tracks.
At the end things turn poigant. You Tell Me Where is a tribute
to Scott Miller, who was a big influence on Newman. I’ve thought for a long
time that if anyone could take up where Scott left off, it would be Newman, and
here he proves it. This track is very Scott-like, as we Miller fans would say,
with Neko and Kathryn channeling Donnette Thayer, and Alison Levy, from Game
Theory and the Loud Family respectively, while still sounding like themselves.
The music is a combination of both GT and LF, making for a very heartfelt
tribute.
Is this the album of the year? With so many others in contention, like St Vincent and
Spoon, time will tell, but my money’s on TNP.
Andrea Weiss
