The New Pornographers – Together

"What's love?" ... "What turns up in the dark!"The questions the New Pornographers pose about life on their long awaited album Together are answered in surprising ways. Always more a constellation of artists with ongoing projects than any kind of 'supergroup', chief songwriter Carl Newman and his band serve up another rich slice of power pop, but extend some of the more personal themes of 2007's Challengers album with songs about strained family relations and existential angst , as Together sees the Vancouver ensemble in more reflective mood.Keeping this extended family together must be a labour of love for Newman, now well established as a solo artist. Daniel Bejar, whose songs act as a powerful counterpoint to Newman's, in much the same way Colin Moulding did for Andy Partridge in XTC, is also better known under the moniker Destroyer, and Alt-Country chanseur Neko Case, perhaps the most familiar face of all, is a big musical presence both inside and outside the band. But the overall sound of The New Pornographers has always been a collective affair, and it is this dynamic, pulling in different directions but giving the band its characteristic hi-energy sound, which Newman explores on the latest album, along with a glittering array of guests, including Annie Clarke (St Vincent), Zach Condon (Beirut), Will Scheff (Okkervil River) and the Dap-Kings horn section.Togetherness I - What goes round comes around Newman has always emphasized the interconnectedness of pop songs. Guessing all the influences on a New Pornographers' song would doubtless make a good pub game, and they obviously haven't heard that the the album is dead so they're determined to make a perfect one. No, in the New Pornographer's world, there are still songs that make us want to get out of bed in the morning, and they know they'd better try come up with a few of those. They also don't accept history in perfect chronology, so their sound leapfrogs three decades, owing more to 70s bands Big Star, Roxy Music and Sparks than to anything directly contemporary. It's like the 80s never really happened for them. In fact, Newman's songs are unashamedly 'postmodern', in the sense he owns up to writing songs about other songs, before people like Joe Satriani can take him to court! Recent single 'The Crash Years' riffs like George Harrison's 'You', and glorious opener 'Moves' owes a lot to Chicago's 1970 classic '25 or 6 to 4' . Whatever you think of pastiche, there is something refreshingly unapologetic about The New Pornographers approach, a celebration of what went before, but the darker elements on Together also remind us to look up lost classics like Alex Chilton and Big Star's 'Third /Sister lovers'.Togetherness II - Band assemblage And the songs on this album sound like a band really playing together, an instrumentation-packed production, less keyboard flourishes than on their earlier work but more strings, guitars, horns, drums, 'real' instruments you pluck, blow and bash rather than click! Vocal duties are shared throughout, the early power pop stompers 'The Moves' ,'The crash years' and standout track 'Silver Jenny Dollar' giving way to more thoughtful (some might say darker?) songs, but all the material showcases the band's singing talents. On 'Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk', Newman ghosts Annie Clarke's glorious vocal, followed by haunting ballad 'My Shepherd', sung by Neko Case, reviving bittersweet memories in an old house, surely another album highlight. But then Kathryn Calder also dazzles in the oddly titled 'Valkyrie and the roller disco' before Daniel Bejar does his pop troubadour best on the lilting 'Daughters of Sorrow', joined with great fanfare by the assembled cast of thousands. Phew! There's a rich diversity here, and Condon's trumpet and the Dap-Kings' horns have given a lot of the arrangements a nice souped-up 70s feel. It's like a live show but without all the booziness!Togetherness III - Family strains And then suddenly the mood gets darker on 'Your Hands Together' and 'We End Up Together', where Newman and Calder duet about family relations, but there are calls for a "silver bullet" to put an end to togetherness, and then Newman asks "When are you going to do some damage, little brother? Now that half you life is over, if you're lucky". But should we be surprised that songs apparently about togetherness often feature an aching sense of their own mortality? Newman lyrics on Together remind us that in life we are basically alone, but by recognizing this we can begin to deal with it before it drags us all down, as "we end up together"!The New Pornographers have lived a bit since their debut Mass Romantic in 2000, and on the evidence of Together, Newman & Co. are approaching middle age still with things to say and making the music they like to make ... even if the kind of pop they believe in seems to be over, luckily, nobody told them yet ...