Listen: Neko Case - "Man"

I won't pretend to be the biggest fan of Neko Case. In fact I haven't all that much attention to her solo career knowing her most notably as one of the all star members of The New Pornographers and her subtly spectacular guest spot on The Dodos' No Color and yet when her latest single "Man" from her upcoming album The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, I found myself intrigued. Not only because the title had a very Fiona Apple rambling air about it. I had essentially put off checking out Neko Case's solo material for years and I planned on righting this wrong immediately.

Though I had really only spent time with Middle Cyclone, in "Man" I could instantly see her appeal and what fans would surely be clamoring more for on the upcoming album. "Man" continues Case's shifting gender focus and manages to avoid what you might write off as just a silly schtick by actually being pretty damn good. That's not to say there's anything comedic about Case writing/singing from a male point of view, rather it'd be easy to pass up if described to you by someone who has no idea what's going on here. Featuring the tasteful guitar talents of M. Ward, the track is a rollicking rock jam with just the right ounce of ear-catching pop mastery to ensure it stays in your head from now until forever after hearing it. It's highly enjoyable, simple as that.



So, clearly I've made a huge mistake. Neko Case's solo output is not to be ignored because it's far better than any/all of her collaborations. Case engages in interesting concepts and masterful melodic play and now I feel damn ashamed I hadn't listened to her sooner. Here's hoping actually listening to The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You when it actually comes out with redeem me somewhat. With the album out September 3rd on ANTI-, I have plenty of time to listen to her whole back catalog and if you haven't, you should too. You won't regret it, I assure you.

A.C. Newman - "I'm Not Talking"

It's kind of common knowledge that Canada's The New Pornographers are amassed from a series of prominent solo artists and band members from other bands and the like and yet, besides that fact I've never really heard a lot of work from them which when A.C. Newman announced his first single off his third solo album Shut Down the Sheets, I set out to change that.

If you fancy yourself a fan of The New Pornographers there's little links that are sure to delight you - like very Pornographers-esque harmonies (I think Newman might've even had some of them guest on the album).   Other than that the track is just swell, a sort of calm, rambling downbeat pop number that's none too flashy but still manages to get stuck in your ear-pipes.

So while the New Pornographers are on hiatus for the time being, discover some new music from the members. It's a great way to pass the time. Hear A.C. Newman's "I'm Not Talking":

New Porngraphers stack new video for "Moves"

In their video for "Moves", The New Pornographers enlist a star-studded cast to play themselves. The video takes the form of a movie preview, proceeded by a buddy comedy preview called Expectant Dads where Paul Rudd and Bill Hader who seven months pregnant decide to seek out their baby daddies, that glamorizes the band's rise in the aptly named The Rise and Rise of The New Pornographers. In the video, the band makes fun of itself as "Carl Newman" (played by Superchunk's Jon Wurster) puts up a band needed sign asking for: a female singer (Julie Klausner as Neko Case), a guitarist (Kevin Coorigan as Dan Bejar), a bassist (Horatio Sanz as John Collins), keyboardist (Wyatt Cenac as Blaine Thurier), another guitarist, and another female singer? (Ted Leo as Kathryn Calder). The band meets with success in Canada, enters America to some Anti-Canadian hostility, get rich and famous, do some hard drugs, and makes their comeback with "Moves Pt. 2". The video/movie preview's got romance, action, and most importantly the New Pornographer's "Moves" accompanying it.

Other cameos include comedian Todd Barry as the band's merch guy, Donald Glover, John Oliver, and John Hodgman (the PC guy) as their label rep, in addition to nearly countless others. Enjoy New Pornographer's "Moves":

New Pornographers - Together (2010)

From the cello intro off lead track "Moves", I knew The New Pornographers fifth studio album Together was going to be epic. A bit mellower than their previous albums (Twin Cinema's hyperactivity included), they still maintain the same energetic, creative, and body moving qualities of all the other albums. "Moves" is an example of orchestrated pop rock done right. Beginning with the aforementioned cello intro before violins, guitars, drums, and the like join in, followed by the intermingling of voices (though Carl Newman serves as chief vocalist) that form the backbone of the band's trademark sound. Next is "Crash Years" featuring Neko Case on vocals. Power chord laden "Your Hands (Together)" is one of the first song on the album without a featured solo vocalist. It also brings the album a bit more uptempo from the calmer two preceeding tracks. "Silver Jenny Dollar", penned and sung by Dan Bejar, brings the tempo down a bit and adds a bit of a retro rock feel. "Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk", probably my favorite song on the album, has Carl Newman, Kathryn Calder, and Neko Case's enchanting interweaving vocals alternating with extensive instrumental breaks combining to make a toe-tapping but still emotional masterpiece. "My Shepard", featuring Neko Case on vocals, manages to be solemn, uplifting, and nostalgic all at the same time. Its probably the most balladic track on the album but still manages to keep the album moving and is full of tons of these climatic little moments where the mood changes, the band's playing gets louder, and the listener might find themselves letting out a contented sigh. Dan Bejar's "If You Can't See My Mirrors" brings back that retro rock feel and wistful reflection. "Up in the Dark" follows in pretty much the same mood as the previous track but with a little more motion and featuring the other band members more heavily. "Valkyrie In The Roller Disco" is the most stripped down I've ever heard The New Pornographers. Consisting of mainly a keyboard, the ever-present myriad of voices, and a distant sounding guitar with some maracas thown in for good measure. "A Bite Out Of My Bed" fills in all the silence created in the last track tastefully throwing in everything but the kitchen sink to create an upbeat pop gem. Dan Bejar's last contribution to the album, "Daughter of Sorrow" starts out with incredibly high energy before becoming lilting and almost-melancholic-yet-not-quite. It's has this floating feel, assisted by the wordless chorus. Album ender "We End Up Together" is the longest track on the album at almost 6 minutes and combines almost everything awesome that happened on the album. Instrumental breaks, string flourishes, clustered vocals behind Newman's lead ones, and featuring the return of the cello licks. The track starts of simply and grows in scale, reaching a clap inducing intensity before its sudden end.

Together, as an album is pretty amazing. I found myself listening to pretty much every song on it repetitively. Really that's all you can ask of an album. To have each song on to carry their own weight and now just consist of a couple key songs while the rest serves as filler. The album is made all the more better by its serving up something new in the form of more strings and brass and a mellower sound while also managing to still sound like a natural progression of band that's been around for awhile. The band's powerpop energy isn't lost, even in the most calm of tracks and the aids the album's cohesiveness while keeping it from putting you to sleep. Interesting to note is that Annie Clark aka St. Vincent, Will Shelf of Okkervill River, and The Dap Kings assisted on the album, but you barely notice their contributions. They blend in so seemlessly, if I hadn't read they were on the album, I wouldn't have even known.

Hear what the album sounds like with the music video for the album's second single "Crash Years" directed by the band's own Blaine Thurier:

Now Streaming: The New Pornographers - Together

The New Pornographers, the Canadian powerpop supergroup from Vancouver, are releasing their fifth album Together on May 4th. To help ease the wait, fans can stream the whole album in its entirety on NPR's First Listen here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126174756

In addition to it's almost claustophobia-inducing amount of musicians, Together also features Beirut's Zach Condon, Okkervill River's Will Shelf, St. Vincent's Annie Clark, and the horn section from Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings. Give it an listen as it's sure to be an enlightening experience.