Its existence probably has more to do with the difficulty of scheduling Pornographers sessions than any limitations imposed on Newman by the group’s structure. The challenge of recalling whether a given Newman song is from this record or Electric Version reflects both the consistent quality and the creative diversity of his work. Frenetic (“Miracle Drug”), measured (“Drink to Me, Babe, Then”), bizarre (“On the Table”), baroque (“The Cloud Prayer”), serious (“Come Crash”), dramatic (“The Battle for Straight Time”) and droll (“The Town Halo,” complete with sawing ELO-style cellos), The Slow Wonder is further proof of Newman’s offbeat ingenuity, both in melody and lyric. Newman’s brief solo debut, co-produced (fairly simply) by Dave Carswell of the Smugglers, is happily of a piece with the Pornographers’ work, minus Case’s distinctive vocals. Although the album doesn’t exactly flow smoothly from one end to the other, occasional bouts of theatricality leave it imaginably the score of an extremely weird musical. The vocal diversity, both in person and approach (including a fair amount of airy falsetto), is especially potent - Case’s twang (as in “All for Swinging You Around,” where she takes the verses, joins others for the chorus and then tartly answers back alone) sends the already vertiginous balance off on a dizzy carom. Increasing the achievement, the music never sounds fussed-over or even especially careful the group doesn’t rely on anything more complex than guitars, organs, piano and drums, occasionally fractured rhythms and great singing. Enigmatic phrases (often sung with eccentric emphasis) and licks leap out and flash by like flotsam held aloft in a cartoon twister getting a firm hold on any of this uber-nerd madness is nigh on impossible as speeding choruses and verses leap out of the way for surprising bridges and digressions of the sort usually uncontainable in pop songcraft. Listen to “From Blown Speakers,” “Testament to Youth in Verse,” “It’s Only Divine Right” or “Miss Teen Wordpower” once and you’ll have to hear them again a dozen spins later, you’re no closer to grasping all of the ingredients that went in or discerning the thought behind any of it. One of those rare pop creations that exists on multiple levels (like the best of XTC), it’s an immediately winning explosion of hooks that retains a deep and elusive element of mystery. Incredibly, Electric Version is even more so. From the piano trills in “The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism” to the galloping drums of “The Body Says No,” Mass Romantic is irresistible. Bejar’s songs, such as “Jackie,” are wordier and weirder but no less elaborate. The album has a self-reflexive quality Newman’s lyrics reference the pop process that the songs exemplify but without a shred of irony.
#Miss teen wordpower series#
The song twists and turns on an insistent, trebly guitar hook, moves through smiling woo-woo harmonies and ends with a series of stuttering machine-gun riffs. Case belts the tune with glam- rock enthusiasm that’s far from her usual torchy country style. Newman, Case and Bejar trade lead vocals, with Case’s performance on “Letter From an Occupant” the standout. Primary songwriter Newman is joined by Dan Bejar (who leads the excellent Destroyer), alt-country singer Neko Case and three other Vancouver indie-scene vets in this side-project that rapidly turned permanent after the accolades that greeted Mass Romantic.Īn instant classic, Mass Romantic is a breathless race through a dozen exuberant gems, with layers of soaring vocal harmonies and borrowings from smart ’70s pop like ELO, Sparks and early Roxy Music. No matter that Newman came up with the band name before he learned that Jimmy Swaggart once called music “the new pornography”: their music offers an obscene amount of fun. Stop-start turns, Beach Boys harmonies, squiggly synthesizers, fuzzy guitar chords, layer upon layer of sound - the New Pornographers pack songs with maximum pop pleasure. A Canadian indie-rock supergroup led by Carl Newman (previously of Zumpano and Superconductor), the New Pornographers produce totally over-the-top power pop, saturated with nearly every exciting trick in the rock songbook.
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