Let’s first make a distinction. There are musical Super Groups and there are super musical groups. A capitol “S” super group might be loosely defined as a collective of independently notable if not famous musicians who come together now and then to make music. Lower case “s” super groups might better be described as bands whose efforts reinforce the strength of the whole over the individual and whose music is super - as in awesome, great, amazing, outstanding, grand, excellent or otherwise very very good.
I have rules about capitol “S” Super Groups, rules created to protect people from the Damn Yankees. However lower case super groups are to be enjoyed and celebrated for how super they really are, and how rare.
Now that we’ve straightened out the larger issue I offer you the case of the New Pornographers. You can’t read a review, blurb or ad hyping the band without its name being preceded by the words “Canadian Super Group.” Really? I’m sure this isn’t the first time I've suffered from not having been raised in Canada, but who the fuck are John Collins and Kurt Dahle? Or Todd Fancey and Blaine Thurier? Even the band’s big names (A.C. Newman, Neko Case and Dan Bejar) aren’t among the industry’s biggest stars – though they could be soon. While it may be a stretch in my hockey-illiterate book to qualify the New Pornographers as a capitol “S” Super Group they are easily and brilliantly a super group. Awesome, great, amazing, etc.
And yes, they are Canadian. The band and most of its members hail from Vancouver, that city on the non-Montreal side of Canada. They formed in 1997 around leader Newman (The Slow Wonder) and include Case (formerly of Virginia – the actual U.S. state, not a band), Bejar (Destroyer), and the aforementioned law firm of Collins, Dahle, Fancey, & Thurier, all of whom Newman describes on the band’s website as being “ridiculously talented.” As if to prove him right the band has recorded some of the best no-frills power pop this century has seen with their 2000 debut "Mass Romantic" and the thrilling "Electric Version" in 2003. “Twin Cinema” continues their upward trajectory through the heady world of intelligent, high-energy pop while raising the creative stakes and calling on a few ghosts of rock-n-roll's past.
The album’s title track leaps out of the gates on solid, familiar footing with all pistons firing, setting high expectations and daring you to turn it up a little louder with each refrain. This is a guitar driven major chord romp for sunny days and open windows, the kind of thing that makes sugar fiends like me bounce on the balls of their feet, clap their hands and say “Weeeee!” Now that you’re hooked you are immediately given a glimpse at a new, bigger picture. Neko Case, who has completed her Wilco-esque transformation from alt-country chanteuse to alt-pop clarion, takes lead on “The Bones of an Idol.” Shades of woodsy mysticism in lines like “We're lit by a torch; As we kneel in the court of the king…” are made credible by the calm confidence in her voice and the steady march of percussion. The real reward comes hot on “Idol’s” heels with the album’s obvious and worthy first single "Use It" followed by “The Bleeding Heart Show” which starts gently enough with wistful romantic memories and ends effortlessly where the album started – a great big, richly rewarding pop anthem.
The album shifts on its feet from number to number, giving serotonin levels a chance to dip back to normal before ramping up again. While this can break the momentum it also speaks to the band’s confidence in the songs as finished entities unto themselves. By raising the curtain and introducing each track as something new they are focusing attention in the moment and showcasing the importance of different emphases within the album and, in a larger sense, within pop music. The increased cohesion with which the band plays forms a rich and interesting fabric within which various threads emerge without coming unraveled. Heavy piano chords punch through here and an accordion bleeds its way to the surface there. A few moments of uneven timing and challenging harmonies threaten to tear the stitching, but a foundation of solid group play as lead by Newman and propelled by Dahle’s drumming allows everything it’s place. Even Bejar’s vocal on “Jackie, Dressed In Cobras” seems less jarring than his previous solo efforts. Still, the guy has a weird voice, one that is most effectively used to support Newman and Case. And who is Jackie anyway (see “Mass Romantic”)? Still, let’s not forget it’s A.C.’s band and they are in top form when he is driving the bus, apparently until the wheels fall off. He takes a strong lead even when he’s not behind the mic, coalescing the group into a loose and efficient noise machine running on the strength of its members.
To their credit New Pornographers have balanced accessible, literate pop hooks with more challenging, earnest rock. It’s a sound with touchstones in late sixties and early seventies progressive and folk rock. Fleetwood Mac and Genesis keep coming to mind - bands not afraid to play up and play big with plenty of abandon, but also mindful, mature and ready to experiment. Bejar’s pinched tenor is somehow reminiscent of Peter Gabriel, Newman makes a great Lindsey Buckingham and I’ll take Neko Case over Stevie Nicks any day (heresy, I know). The more ambitious scale and structure of songs pushes them seaward from “Electric Version’s” deliciously knee-deep but briskly moving water. Their willingness to work just beyond what you expect and to touch a tender nerve without apologizing for the sentiment further links the new outing to classic albums like “Rumours.” Whether or not “Twin Cinema” proves to have the staying power of a true classic remains to be seen, but it surely stands out among its peers as a mark for which to aim and cements the band’s status as a bone fide lower case "s" super group.
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