The New Pornographers - Albums Collection 2000-2010 [6CD]

×

The New Pornographers - Albums Collection 2000-2010 [6CD]

Close

Collection includes: Mass Romantic (2000); Electric Version (2003); Twin Cinema (2005); Live! (2006); Challengers (2007) and Together (2010).

The Vancouver indie rock supergroup the New Pornographers features the talents of Zumpano's Carl Newman, the Evaporators' John Collins, Destroyer's Dan Bejar, cartoonist/filmmaker Blaine Thurier, drummer Fisher Rose, and guest vocalist Neko Case. Newman began the band in 1996 as a lark after releasing Zumpano's Goin' Through Changes; one by one, the other members joined the fold, and the New Pornographers' first official rehearsal took place in 1997. By the following year, the group had completed four songs, but then Case left Vancouver for Chicago, Thurier began work on his film Low Self Esteem Girl, and the other members attended to their other bands and projects. Rose left in 1999, and Limblifter/Age of Electric drummer Kurt Dahle and guitarist Todd Fancey joined the Canadian supergroup. With a solid lineup in tow, the New Pornographers reunited and began recording again in early 2000, completing their debut album, Mass Romantic, in time for a fall release and critical acclaim. Ray Davies joined the band at SXSW in fall 2001, performing the Kinks classic "Starstruck" for the first time ever. After a brief North American tour, each member returned to their respective projects by 2002. Bejar recorded with Destroyer, and Case headed out on the road with Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds in support of her second solo album, Blacklisted. Nobody strayed too far, however, for the New Pornographers headed back into the studio before the year's end to work on a follow-up to Mass Romantic. The pop-powered Electric Version, which appeared in spring 2003, marked their first for Matador. Twin Cinema followed in 2005 and garnered a good deal of critical praise, receiving near-perfect rankings from such influential outlets as Rolling Stone and Pitchfork. Bolstered by such a positive reception – as well as the success of Neko Case's Fox Confessor Brings the Flood in 2006 – the group went in a mellower direction with 2007's Challengers.

Biography by MacKenzie Wilson, Allmusic.com

×

The New Pornographers - Albums Collection 2000-2010 [6CD]

Close

×

The New Pornographers - Albums Collection 2000-2010 [6CD]

Close

Mass Romantic is a barnstorming debut from the New Pornographers, a collection of Vancouver-based indie rockers. With chief songwriting duties falling into the hands of Destroyer's Dan Bejar and Zumpano's Carl Newman, the album displays a decidedly power pop form of indie rock. Guitars wail and ratchet as keyboards swirl toward every direction of the compass. The vocals, handled by Bejar, Newman, drummer Kurt Dahl, and alt-country star Neko Case, are sung in a style that delivers maximum catchiness. The band displays a keen sense of musical history, as the songs cover influences ranging from the Beatles ("The Mary Martin Show") to David Bowie ("The Slow Descent into Alcoholism") to T. Rex ("Mystery Hours") to Todd Rundgren ("The Fake Headlines"). Mass Romantic is noisy, fuzzy, crunchy, and hook-heavy. It's an album that reveals its charms through repeat listens, and makes a listener wonder how the band can master so many different musical styles via so many vocalists while still maintaining a fiercely cohesive sound. Case, who has previously proven herself a master of warped country crooning, proves herself equally accomplished in the world of rock swagger with her vocals on "Mass Romantic" and "Letter from an Occupant"; she provides background vocals on a number of other tracks as well. In some better alternate reality, Mass Romantic's bitter yet sugary staccato treats would have burnt up the charts with hit single after hit single.

Review by Tim DiGravina, Allmusic.com

×

The New Pornographers - Albums Collection 2000-2010 [6CD]

Close

Three years after the sonic honey of Mass Romantic, the New Pornographers come up smiling once more with their sophomore effort and Matador debut, Electric Version. These beloved indie rockers stick with the syrupy goodness found on their first album, but opt to turn the amps up for a brighter, slicker sound, hence the title. It's a kitschy play on the band's power pop, and Carl Newman and secret member Dan Bejar keep their clever lyrical twists in tune. Twiddling riffs and organs dance with Neko Case's sunny harmonies on the rollicking "It's Only Divine Right" and "From Blown Speakers." The energy is there, but Electric Version captures a new kind of energy from the New Pornographers. While Mass Romantic was a little more quirky in spirit, Electric Version is more polished. They took just under a year to create this album, so naturally a fresh confidence would transpire and "The Laws Have Changed" highlights the New Pornographers' musical growth. This album standout is bold as brass, drenched in Case and Newman's perky vocals. "All for Swinging You Around" takes things further with wacky synth beats and tripped-up percussion, Velocity Girl-style, but its the band's own glossed-over rock & roll on "Miss Teen Worldpower" that truly represents the smooth emotion and might behind the New Pornographers' sound. Electric Version is an enjoyable and easy listen, chock-full of hungry hooks and brimming with indie rock's classic humility.

Review by MacKenzie Wilson, Allmusic.com

×

The New Pornographers - Albums Collection 2000-2010 [6CD]

Close

When the New Pornographers released their first album, Mass Romantic, in 2000, they were a cult sensation, partially because they were comprised of cult sensations from Vancouver, chief among them Carl Newman of Zumpano, Dan Bejar of Destroyer, and alt-country singer/songwriter Neko Case. Not longer after that first album, Case started to earn some accolades on her own, thereby raising the group's profile, which meant that their second album, 2003's Electric Version, garnered more attention than their debut. But by that point, the band had its own word-of-mouth following, large enough to attract the attention of indie rock standard-bearer Matador, who not only released the New Pornographers' sophomore effort, but Newman's superb solo album The Slow Wonder in the summer of 2004. All this set the stage for the group's third album, Twin Cinema, which arrived in late summer 2005 to rather high expectations – after all, they not only had two fine records underneath their belt, but The Slow Wonder was also well regarded (and earned some airtime on The OC to boot), so the time seemed ripe for a masterpiece from the New Pornographers. By that standard, Twin Cinema is a disappointment, since it does not constitute either a definitive statement or a great leap forward, but by nearly every other measure, it's a success.

Like their previous two records, it's a bright, hooky record that sounds cheerful even when the tempos slow down and the melodies drift toward a minor key. It's sharp and tuneful, abundant in references to classic guitar pop yet never sounding beholden to the past, thanks to the lively, loose performances, a simple yet muscular production, and smart writing, usually from the pen of Newman. Although he writes ten of the 13 songs here (Bejar contributes the other three, including the insistent "Jackie, Dressed in Cobras" and "Broken Breads," which comes across like Syd Barrett fronting the Kinks or Robyn Hitchcock jamming with the Hoodoo Gurus, depending on your point of view), Newman has a different perspective when writing for the New Pornographers, composing within a specific framework that emphasizes the collective nature of the group, giving every member more or less equal time. And, as Twin Cinema proves, collective is a better word to describe the New Pornographers than band, since they have a friendly, casual vibe that sounds like the product of informal jam sessions. That's appealing, but it's also part of the reason that the New Pornographers can't quite deliver a masterpiece, or an album that's as strong and sustained as The Slow Wonder.

Since all contributions are treated equally, the group doesn't have a distinctive personality or focal point outside of the tunefulness of the music itself. Which is not to say that the New Pornographers lack engaging singers – Newman has a sweet everyman voice, perfect for power pop, and Neko Case is so gripping a singer that it's hard not to wish she took the lead more often – but there's such an emphasis on never overemphasizing any specific member that the music winds up humble to a fault. Which is why the New Pornographers are more of an indie band than a power pop band: instead of trading in titanic hooks and glistening surfaces, they make deliberately small-scale, insular music that cuts its classicist nature with enigmatic, sometimes impenetrable lyrics and ragged performances. While that may keep the group from power pop greatness, there's no denying that they're charming in their modesty, which is what makes Twin Cinema an endearing listen, if not a flat-out knockout. Like the previous two New Pornographers albums, there are plenty of great tunes here – including the hard-rocking, invigorating title track, the urgent "Use It," and the moody, meditative "These Are the Fables" – that are reminiscent of classic '60s and '70s guitar pop without specifically sounding like any band in particular. The hooks and harmonies tumble out one after another, as the band plays with energy and enthusiasm that falls somewhat short of being truly exciting, yet the catchiness of the songs is a good compensation for that. All this adds up to a very enjoyable record, one that compares favorably to what the band has done before, even if its modest nature suggests that the New Pornographers have found their niche, and will continue to refine it instead of expand upon it. While that may disappoint some waiting for a masterpiece, there's no shame in mining the same ground as long as they make records as tight and tuneful as this.

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

×

The New Pornographers - Albums Collection 2000-2010 [6CD]

Close

LIVE! is the first official live album by The New Pornographers. It was released in 2006 as a tour-only release, but the band has also started to sell copies through their official web store.

×

The New Pornographers - Albums Collection 2000-2010 [6CD]

Close

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.

Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

×

The New Pornographers - Albums Collection 2000-2010 [6CD]

Close

Usually, the whole trick behind pop music is to appear effortless, but the New Pornographers turn that equation on its head, making it a habit of showing their work in every tune. So dense their songs, so labyrinthine their lyrics, they tend to inspire admiration, not slack-jawed wonder, but it’s to the Canadian supergroup’s great credit that the music never feels like an intellectual exercise: the hooks are there, they’re just not immediate. Fortunately, Together – the group’s fifth album – does feel immediate, a muscular riposte to 2007’s inward-gazing Challengers; it’s a record that sounds sinewy even when slathered with strings. When the cellos are really sawing away, as they are from the moment the record starts, the scale of the New Pornographers' ambition and melodic dedication often recall an ELO without ornamentation (or Jeff Lynne’s enduring love of Jerry Lee Lewis boogie, for that matter), occasionally fronted by Robyn Hitchcock in the guise of Destroyer’s Dan Bejar, whose flights of impenetrable fancy do not seem incongruous because A.C. Newman’s songs are equally elusive. Which is why Neko Case is so crucial to the group’s success: she’s the blood that flows through the band, turning whimsy into something resembling reality without giving the listener pause, which is no small talent. And perhaps that’s why this album is called Together: more than any other of the New Pornographers' albums, this feels like a group effort, each element united to create uniquely cerebral power pop.

Review by Tom Erlewine, Allmusic.com