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After leaving Zumpano, Carl Newman restarted the New Pornographers,
a project that he had envisioned with Neko Case and
assorted friends,
and released Mass Romantic (Mint, 2000), one of the poppiest albums
ever (includes the 1998 single Letter From An Occupant, possibly
their masterpiece).
The official line-up was completed by
Thee Evaporators' bassist John Collins, Destroyer's vocalist Dan Bejar,
Limblifter's drummer Kurt Dahle and filmmaker Blaine Thurier on keyboards.
Sloppy vocals, amateurish guitars, atonal sound effects and hard-rock riffs
bestowed on the sprightly Mass Romantic a garage-like flavor.
The psychedelic merry-go-round Mystery Hours, the Merseybeat joke of
The Body Says No and the electronic rave-up of
Centre For Holy Wars display plenty of verve and humor.
It takes massive doses of the Beach Boys' Barbara Ann and Good Vibrations to come up with something like
The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism.
The New Pornographers' second album, Electric Version (Matador, 2003),
presents a more cohesive band. Increased doses of gleeful melodies,
more prominent retro` postures, enhanced Hollies-ian harmonies,
bouncy guitars, and peppy rhythms, promote them to top
Fastbacks imitators.
The divine hooks of The Laws Have Changed,
All for Swinging You Around, and The Electric Version
update the canon of Sixties music,
while the loud guitars of The New Face of Zero and One
and the relentless boogie of It's Only Divine Right
approach power-pop from a different angle.
Jason Zumpano's first solo album,
Sparrow (Overcoat, 2003), is devoted to
orchestral pop in the vein of Abba and XTC.
The Early Years (2005) is as undistinguished.
Showing off his arranging skill, Carl Newman's solo album
The Slow Wonder (Matador, 2004), credited to A.C. Newman,
is as refined as any of the New Pornographers albums
(The Battle For Straight Time, On the Table).
The only problem
is that there is precious little to say in the realm of this kind of synthetic
pop muzak for one who has already surveyed the entire genre on two
New Pornographers albums.
All these echoes of the Mersey-beat and of XTC can get quite tedious
if you can't find something new to add to the basic canon.
Alas, the rocking Miracle Drug and the psychedelic Come Crash,
i.e. the non-pop songs, don't quite stand up on their own.
The loud and driving
The Town Halo does succeed in transcending the pop model,
and ranks among his most energetic songs.
The New Pornographers' Twin Cinema (Matador, 2005) is another impeccable pop collection. Whether it's catchy tunes that evoke the Sixties
(Twin Cinema) or a new degree of sophistication that redefines the
2000s as a less gloomy age (The Bleeding Heart Show,
Stacked Crooked
Falling Through Your Clothes),
Newman and cohorts compose and perform like machines programmed for maximum pop efficiency.
Sheer melodic virtuosity continues to be their quintessential quality.
Alas, some of album's songs sound like filler to justify an album for the
three/four that really stand out.
Challengers (2007) is a rather tedious experience, devoid of the elegant
exuberance of the first two albums. One has to admire the degree of artifice
that the band injects into My Rights Versus Yours,
All The Old Showstoppers and
All the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth,
which makes Brian Wilson look like an
amateur, but the album leaves little behind beyond cold admiration.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Paolo Latini)
Dopo la parentesi Zumpano, Carl Newman comincia una nuova storia con
i New Pornographers, un progetto pensato insieme a Neko
Case e altri amici, che subito realizzano Mass Romantic (Mint,
2000), uno degli album più pop di sempre (è qui il singolo
del 1998 Letter From An Occupant, forse il loro capolavoro). La
line-up ufficiale è completata da John Collins, già bassista
nei Thee Evaporators, Dan Bejar, già vocalist dei Destroyer, Kurt
Dahle, batterista dei Limblifter, e dal regista Blaine Thurier alle tastiere.
Il secondo album dei New Pornographers, Electric Version (Matador,
2003), mostra una band già più coesa. Le dosi incrementate
di ilarità nelle melodie, le posture retrò, le armonie Hollies-iane,
le chitarre esuberanti e le ritmiche rinvigorite, li promuovono ai primi
posti tra gli imitatori dei Fastbacks.
I ganci divini di The Laws Have Changed, All for Swinging You
Around, e The Electric Version aggiornano il canone della musica
dei Sixties, mentre le chitarre sature di The New Face of Zero and One
e l'implacabile boogie di It's Only Divine Right si avvicinano al
power-pop da un'altra angolazione.
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