I know most people who read this blog are American, so you only have a faint idea of The New Pornographers. Like most Canadian bands, The New Pornographers are really 7 bands in one, featuring members from Swan Lake, Immaculate Machine, Maow, The Evaporators, Age of Electric, Limblifter, Destroyer, and Superconductor. AC Newman [Myspace], the band’s lead singer, is also the guy behind The Slow Wonder, long considered to be the “missing” NP album. 2009’s Get Guilty is a terrific sophomore effort by the singer, and will soon be inevitably known as “the other missing NP album.”
The reason his solo efforts sound so much like The New Pornographers is somewhat perplexing; yes, he writes the songs for both projects, but few of the other side projects come as close to being from obviously the same source. What it does convey is how much his own vision gets to play out on the New Pornographer canvas, and it’s one worth celebrating; Get Guilty is one of the most rewarding pop albums I’ve heard in years. It’s what Challenger, the last NP album, should have been: reflexive, celebratory, mysterious, danceable, celestial, and, yes, wondrously guilty. Beginning with one of the most fun first verses I’ve ever heard, “There are maybe ten or twelve things that I can teach you/after that, well, you’re on you’re on/and that wasn’t the opening line/it was the ten or twelfth one/make of that what you will.”
Is it bias to beam about an album that makes you feel happier to be alive? AC Newman creates songs like this, and these 12 new ones don’t stray from the formula much: take the guitar sensibilities of the Beach Boys, match them with the incomprehensible (but narrative) lyrics of the Tragically Hip, and blend with lots of ooohs and aaahhhs to create absolutely perfect Canadian pop music. Newman’s sense of humour is on display in full force here as well, though no more on “All of my days and all of my days off,” where he pledges to give all of his days off to his love.
I’m better for owning this album. You will be too.
“Submarines of Stockholm” [mp3]
“There Are Maybe Ten or Twelve” [mp3]
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[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today on AC Newman – Get GuiltyHere’s a quick excerpt I know most people who read this blog are American, so you only have a faint idea of The New Pornographers. Like most Canadian bands, The New Pornographers are really 7 bands in one, featuring members from Swan Lake, Immaculate Machine, Maow, The Evaporators, Age of Electric, Limblifter, Destroyer, and Superconductor. AC Newman [Myspace], the band’s lead singer, is also the guy behind The Slow Wonder, long considered to be the “missing” NP album. 2009’s Get Guilty is a terrific sophomore eff [...]
Wow, this was a really good review. I definitely agree with you in that ‘Challengers’ was not as good as their last ones. Although I like Get Guilty a great deal, I just seem to enjoy The Slow Wonder much more, I don’t know, just a preference for me.