It’s hard to believe that the New Pornographers have survived five years and three albums. Not for any deficiency in the band itself, but in the sheer difficulty of managing such a large and unwieldy group of artists for whom this is just a side job. That fact alone, that the New Pornographers are a side job, is itself stunning. The consistency and strength of their music seems improbable considering the productive solo outputs of Neko Case, Carl (“A.C.”) Newman, and Destroyer Dan Bejar. They have no right to be this solid.
Still, Twin Cinema, the band’s second official release on Matador, is a remarkably coherent and impressive offering that seems to bode well for the group’s future. The distractions and tensions evident on Electric Version are nowhere to be heard, and while they have moved further away from the overwhelming pop gushes of Mass Romantic, the songs have acquired a depth and nobility while still conjuring maddeningly memorable hooks. Though Newman holds the majority of the songwriting responsibilities, he seems cogent of the strengths and virtues of his peers in the band, and manages to differentiate his New Pornographers material from his own solo output. “Sing Me Spanish Techno” lopes over the bouncy strumming and is bolstered by sonorous backup vocals that push Newman’s titular refrain deeper into the brain. “Falling Through Your Clothes” is a song in search of a movie trailer, cheating through production to develop a hypnotically skipping line of repetition that multiplies the emotional levity of the piece. Dan Bejar’s offerings are as effervescent as ever, pummeling a barrage of non-sequitors through “Jackie, Dressed In Cobras,” harkening back to Mass Romantic’s skeptical heroine and doing her justice with an insistent composition.
The band proves their subtle strengths and the album’s standout moment sneaks in quietly on “These Are The Fables,” a tale of mundane local beauties that slides along Neko Case’s silky voice patiently and unadorned. The minimal accompaniment accents her inflections tastefully, allowing Neko to infuse each lyric with as much meaning and heart as possible. It is a quiet, daydreaming moment that showcases the group’s range and also demonstrates that Ms. Case’s own skills lie not just in the ferocity of her powerful vocal chords but also with her adept phrasing as she colors the lyrics. "Stacked Crooked" closes Twin Cinema on an extremely buoyant note, with Newman leading his troops into the breach, voices raised in triumph as the music slowly fades out. Twin Cinema is another achievement for the musicians involved, and the increasing focus and poise they demonstrate can only encourage those who hope that the colossal talents can continue to coexist in this form. |