New Pornographers

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 1
• ASIN: B000051TSN
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #231,500 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Here's a band everyone can love. They've drawn comparisons to Cheap Trick, the Kinks, Phil Spector, and just about every great pop ensemble with infectious hooks and a rock edge. But the New Pornographers, the indie supergroup of Vancouverites past and present (Carl Newman (Zumpano), Dan Bejar (Destroyer), Neko Case, and well-connected friends) quite simply craft pop tunes smarter than any other indie band out there. It's a guitar-based record, but the harmonies somehow stick out, as do the keyboards, gongs, synths, and tons of little aural do-dads that never let up. The lyrics probably have good content, but who cares? You'll be too busy singing along to care. There's a new wave tint to "Jackie"; Case's wailing on "Letter from an Occupant" makes you completely forget her alt-country day job; "To Wild Homes" has an overblown, weird prog-rock feel; and the anthemic "Breakin' the Law" ends with a chorus of kids joining in on the fun. Any way you look at it, this is one hell of a debut. --Jason Verlinde

CMJ, March 2001
Devastatingly lovely songs...a lush atmosphere of Brian Wilson/Todd Rundgren style opulence...

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pop Music Bliss from Vancouver Indie Rock Supergroup, March 6, 2001

By A Customer

Put aside for the moment that "Mass Romantic", "The Slow Descent into Alcoholism" and, most importantly, "Letter From an Occupant" are three of the greatest pop songs ever written, with hooks so catchy you'll be singing them all day (week?month?year?) long. Temporarily ignore that this is a breakthrough performance by Neko Case, whose pipes rival those of any singer in country or rock (especially on "Occupant," which, in a paralell universe I wished I inhabited, has been #1 on the charts for six months).

No, what really sticks out about this record is that, having listened to it numerous times now, I can't remember ever hearing an album with this much enthusiasm, that sounded like it was as much fun to record as it is to listen to. I mean, in every song these guys are tripping over each other in a rush to get to the chorus, like it's the only thing that'll save their lives. Like, um, music mattered. If it matters to you, then this gem comes with the highest of recommendations.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 1/2 half stars...Ridiculuosly catchy, December 11, 2000

By	Adrien Begrand (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) - See all my reviews

The New Pornographers, a collective of indie artists from Vancouver, have created an album that's so catchy, so sugary-sweet that it leaves you with a sugar rush while overflowing like sodapop fizz. Every single song on Mass Romantic possesses hooks that stay in your head forever.

The songs, written by Zumpano's Carl Newman and Destroyer's Dan Bejar, contain enigmatic, clever lyrics ("Hope grows greener than grass stains") and lift styles from bands like Devo, The Cars, the Go-Go's, The Beatles (of course), Elvis Costello & The Attractions, and the Beach Boys; at one point you even hear Supertramp's influence. If a band can steal a hook from Supertramp, the worst band in rock history, and make it sound good, you know you have something special in your hands.

Four of the band's members share vocal duties, but it's Neko Case who steals the show. On the title track, and especially the glorious 'Letter From An Occupant', Case, who moonlights as a terrific country singer, joyously belts out the tunes a la Belinda Carlisle. 'Letter From An Occupant' could very well be the best song I've heard this year. During the bridge two minutes into the song (where they sing "the song, the song that's shakin' me"), you feel it will just peter out and fade out, but the band decides to prolong the fun a bit more and repeats the chorus, complete with its 'woo-ooh' harmony vocals, for another minute. Absolutely perfect. The repeat button on your cd player was made for songs like this.

Every song is great, but other standouts are 'The Fake Headlines', the humourously self-deprecating 'The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism', and the gleeful 'The Body Says No'.

Lately Canada has been producing musical bores that are either pretentious, soul-gushing female Lilith Fair-types or dull, sound-alike alterna-bands that play the same outdated tuneless grungy sludge. The New Pornographers show there's hope for Canadian music, and this one-off project is too great to yield only one album. here's hoping we'll hear more from them in the years to come.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 1/2 stars...Make a joyful noise unto pop rock fans, February 26, 2002

By	M. E Mattson (Uva Ursi) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This record sounds like it was a blast to make, and each pop gem on here is tackled with ferociously infectious enthusiasm. Like all great pop rock, it heads straight for your pleasure receptors and refuses to stop tickling. The other reviews here are right in mentioning the antecedents (Kinks, Beach Boys, Beatles, Zombies, Big Star, Cheap Trick, Cars, Guided By Voices, whatever) but they really matter very little. This kind of music isn't out to innovate, it's out to intoxicate. Though Neko Case is hailed as added "star power," her great performances are really just another seamless element in a band that is all about delivering hook-packed songs with joyful abandon. The other singers in this band are quite gifted as well. And unlike a lot of pop/rock, it actually rocks.

The only thing holding this album back from a full 5 star review is the harshness of the recording--though it could be argued that also lends this record its charm, a la old Guided By Voices. But it's not really lo-fi; there is a certain harshness and lack of low end (digitally recorded?) that could turn off a picky person with a potato chip lodged in their posterior. Overall, they seem to have gotten a LOT out of a modest recording setup. There's also lots of delightful "no-nos", such as vocal cues left in--where the guy tells the band when the changes are coming up, which I love--adding to the unpretentious lack of seriousness and sense of total spontaneous fun. After reading about this record, I finally got off the fence, and it's the best record I've bought in a long time.