Considering that The New Pornographers are often referred to as an indie power-pop super-group, you might expect them to sound like some bombastic stadium rock group in order to do all those hyphens justice. While they hardly sound like the second coming of Journey, they also don’t make efforts to conceal their size and volume.
7 members deep including vocalists A.C. Newman, Neko Case, and Kathryn Calder, this Canadian super-group formed in 1997. The music is happily catchy, melodic and laden with harmonies. The construction of the songs is clean and exacting. The piano plucks and glides, strings for emphasis or insistence, guitar to carry things along and drums that aren’t afraid to assert a proper beat.
Evolving over the course of 5 successful records, the most recent being the May 2010 release Together, this super-group continues to breathe legitimate life to the power pop genre. Their first album, Mass Romantic (2000), made the indie world take notice as their sound recalled a sort of happy, Britpop redux. Their critically acclaimed album Twin Cinema (2005) saw them expanding the power pop formula and drift into more ambitious arrangements. Their newest release is the perfect introduction as The New Pornographers showcase big sing-along choruses and elaborate orchestral sounds. Take a tour of their indie pop creations and just try hitting the pause button half-way through any album.
If you like: Nada Surf, Jimmy Eat World, The Clash, Belle & Sebastian, Rogue Wave, Neko Case
Check out: The New Pornographers (start with Together, progress to Mass Romantic, graduate to Twin Cinema)
Feeling brave: The Kinks, Rilo Kiley, The DecemberistsAI level: Beginner