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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A.C. Newman - Get Guilty 8/10, January 26, 2009
In a fairer world, Carl Newman would be heralded by mainstream media outlets the Western hemisphere over as one of Canada's preeminent modern pop songwriters, the Great White North's newer, hipper version of Sir Paul or Burt Bacharach. The brainchild behind perennial award-winners and indie mainstays the New Pornographers, Newman's sun-kissed brand of quirky, technically accomplished baroque-pop has been imitated by many yet matched by few. Few songwriters working today can match his depth of wit and devious lyrical turns, and his immediately pleasing arrangements match the best of `60s pop with a properly indie experimental sensibility. With his second solo release under his "A.C." alias, Newman does little to dispel the notion that he remains one of the most consistent entertainers of the indie world.
Newman was always the steadying force behind the New Pornographers fun-loving brand of pop. While Neko Case had her own style of countrified balladry and Dan Bejar a sense of weirdness and inexplicable charm that made its mark on any New Pornos song he wrote, Newman remained the lover of harmonic choruses, intricately developed melodies, and brilliant guitar-piano-vocal interplay. While the New Pornos' latest, Challengers, focused more on slower tunes and diverse styles, Get Guilty harkens back to the New Pornographers of old, a guitar-drive, eminently catchy record of earnest pop-rock.
Opener "There Are Maybe Ten or Twelve" is suitably majestic, riding a pounding, ascending guitar line before settling into a quieter stop/start rhythm and Newman's ambiguous lyrics to "make of that what you will." The soft-loud dynamic works well here, alternating between brash bursts of toms and crashing chords to a lilting piano-led melody framing Newman's distinctive pipes. Newman's seemingly effortless ability to craft involved melodies that sound instinctive and easy. "The Heartbreak Rides" moves along cascading drums, lyrics that rhyme without even seeming to mean to, and a powerful chorus built on top of what sounds like woodwinds, a nonsensical chant of "yell-oooo," and a pounding march of a climax.
Newman's supporting cast fits the quality caliber of his song craft, from ex-Superchunk drummer Jon Wurst's fine work on the breakneck pace of the South American-flavored "Like A Hitman, Like A Dancer" to Mates of State's solid backing vocal work. But it's Newman's record through and through. "The Palace at 4 a.m." is vintage Newman, flowing along a propulsive beat, a perfectly placed series of "ba-ba-bas," a sugary-sweet chorus that could match up to the best of the New Pornographers' catalogue, and typically obtuse Newman lyrics.
Wordiness, in fact, is perhaps Newman's biggest downfall: when he proclaims "no more pushing words around" on "The Palace at 4 a.m.," you wish he would have taken that a bit more to heart. The best Newman songs, such as his 2004 masterpiece "Miracle Drug" to Get Guilty's highlights, "Submarines of Stockholm" and the closing "All of My Days and All of My Days Off" are simple and effective demonstrations of the power of a well-written melody. Songs like the otherwise enjoyable, elegiac "Young Atlantis" and jumbled mess of "Prophets" suffer from rather odd thematic choices and lyrics that flounder rather than connect with the listener.
Luckily for us, Newman doesn't seem to be running out of interesting material anytime soon. After four New Pornographers records and now this second solo effort, along with countless extracurricular contributions, Newman's creative flow seems to be practically unstoppable. Do yourself a favor and listen to songs like the epic "There Are Maybe Ten or Twelve" and the syncopated sing-a-long ode to youth that is "Thunderbolt," and perhaps comparing him to McCartney won't sound too far off. Get Guilty is not a groundbreaking record, and it won't have critics grasping frantically for some obscure superlative like, say, the latest Animal Collectives release, but it's undoubtedly excellent music: honest, with smart writing and gorgeous production, and hooks that refuse to quit.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another Quality Collection of Pop Songs, January 27, 2009
"That wasn't the opening line, maybe the tenth or twelfth. Make of that what you will." Is the line that finishes the first verse on "Get Guilty." I'd say that's an interesting way to start a pop album. Newman gives the listener more thoughts to ponder in the opening track, "There Are Maybe Ten or Twelve," and follows them with the refrain "make of that what you will" multiple times. That line is about as good of a summary of this album as you are likely to find: "Make of that what you will."
I think most people will listen to "Get Guilty" and hear an album mostly full of songs that are in the same vein as the Newman-led tracks on The New Pornographers' latest album, "Challengers," although they are slightly stripped down on "Get Guilty." Whether that is a positive or a negative is entirely up to the individual. Personally, I enjoy The New Pornographers, including "Challengers", but I also expected "Get Guilty" to be somewhat of a departure from his recent New Pornographers work, just as his last solo album ("The Slow Wonder") wouldn't have worked with the music he was making for TNP at the time.
The two most impressive tracks for me are the opening song and "Like a Hitman, Like a Dancer," which are, not coincidentally, the two least TNP-like tracks on this album. "There Are Maybe Ten or Twelve" paces along with a huge drum beat, it's much slower than the typical Newman-penned pop song, but that is probably why it is so enjoyable to me. "Like a Hitman, Like a Dancer" is held together by a short burst of a guitar riff that is as catchy as any chorus on the album.
That's not to say that the rest of the songs aren't good, he's got some pretty good pop songs on this album, including: "The Palace at 4 AM", "The Heartbreak Rides" and "Submarines of Stockholm." And none of the tracks are bad, but most of them don't really stand out either, I often get the feeling like many of these songs could have been buried on the end of one of the last two TNP albums with only minor adjustments.
Going back to my initial point: people's reaction to this album is going to vary depending on individual expectations. Expecting an obvious continuation of Newman's "Challengers" songwriting? You'll be happy. Expecting a good collection of pop songs? You'll be happy. Expecting a departure from TNP in the same vein as "The Slow Wonder"? That's when you might be somewhat disappointed.
I have this album rated about 6.5/10 or so, but I've rounded up the score for this review to 4 stars. I did this mainly beacuse it is a good collection of songs, it is only my own expectations that bring down the album for me. If your expectations don't match mine, there is a good chance you will enjoy this for what it is: a very good pop album.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Change Your Mind! (It's a Grower.), March 10, 2009
In the coming months critics will begin issuing out "best of" lists for the whole of this strange, transformative decade. Best novel. Best film. Best actor. Best albums. Best songwriter. Vancouver singer/songwriter A.C. Newman, best known for his lisp-y frontman work as a leader of The New Pornographers, will see his name written down. Get Guilty, his sixth and final proper album of this decade (four as a Porno, and now two as an A.C.), likely wont find its way onto these lists. It should, however, make some year-end lists while furthering Newman's campaign to go down as the decade's top songwriter.
Opening with the celebratory (if slightly sedated) power-pop blast of "There Are Maybe Ten or Twelve," Get Guilty immediately distinguishes itself from Newman's other solo album, 2004's The Slow Wonder, coming off more like a Pornos tune. But don't get too excited, many of the major hallmarks - the Neko Vocals, two or three obligatory Dan Bejar songs and a few over-the-top/punch-in-the-face power-pop tunes - of Newman's band's sound are completely absent. The arrangements are full (like a Pornos' album) but the writing is slightly more personal. There are no otherworldly female vocalists to compete with and, likewise, there are no otherworldly female vocalists yelping along with Newman. It's an indie rock give-and-take that, truthfully, just sorta sounds like another A.C. Newman-penned record. Nothing wrong with that.
The standout tracks - most notably "The Changeling (Get Guilty)," "The Palace at 4 a.m." and "Like a Hitman, Like a Dancer" - are all just as good as the best Porno tunes. Some chug along in a chamber pop sort of way; some offer up-and-down power-pop rides; and some kick down the door. Like the most recent Pornos' album, 2007's Challengers, Get Guilty offers a solid helping of variety.
As good as albums like Mass Romantic and Electric Version are, they lacked the variety of the work we've seen Newman offer since, peaking with the one-two punch of Challengers and 2005's critical darling, Twin Cinema. Get Guilty often sounds more like a sequel to those records (especially the first few tracks on Challengers) than The Slow Wonder, working well as an example of the artist's progression from the caffeinated rocker we know from Zumpano to a more diverse songwriter with a heavier-than-ever tool box full of poppy songwriter turns.
Neither a new classic or a disappointment, Get Guilty is the first must-own, must-turn-up, must-repeat record of 2009. Learn `em, love `em and look forward to another decade of Newman classics. (Greg Locke)
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