New Pornographers

^^Saw the full band on the Challengers tour, and Bejar only came out for his songs, which were spread out in single shots throughout the set.

Wow. His place in the band is even more mysterious, then. Moulding and Sprout still played instruments in their bands when they weren't singing, i.e. almost always. I can't think of another band that works or worked like New Ps apparently did with Bejar.

it looked to me like bejar was getting some quality drinking done between his songs

Ha!

The new album has faded.

The one time I saw Bejar with the New Pornographers he was drinking so much he looked like he could barely stand up for his last couple of songs. He was still singing perfectly though.

Who is the Skunk Baxter of the New Pornographers?

wait wait wait https://t.co/UuNeMqhHmX pic.twitter.com/URlrZRQrxN

— Sarah Zhang (@sarahzhang) July 27, 2017

Haha. I'm guessing AC

his twitter feed is a heck of a smokescreen in that case

Maybe Fancey then?

New album, In the Morse Code of Brake Lights, out September 27.

First single:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqDO6DWldpw

Good title
Anyone heard the single yet?

friend of mine did the cover 8)

song is unfortunately pretty boring :/

enjoying their new direction

Is Dan Bejar involved? Their last one missed him.

I didn’t miss him at all on the last one. His schtick really gets on my nerves. Chacun a son etc etc

Last album was among their best ever.

Not super crazy about the new song but looking forward to hearing more.

enjoying their new direction

does anyone know who is playing bass in the Letter From An Occupant video? is that John Collins? doesn't look like him to me, but this was a long time ago...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBAUQaj6EJo

Yep, young John in a pre-beard era. When I saw them live a few years after this I thought “new John” was a different dude. I think he musta got more exercise as an Evaporator.

Big surprise in this vid for me: Blaine smiling and acting animated. Anytime I’ve seen them live he’s looked like he was updating his resume, not playing keys in a power-pop band.

yeah, I've been watching old New Pornos live footage on YouTube and Blaine has completely changed his demeanor onstage ... either because he's older, he's tired of it, he won't go thru the motions anymore ... who knows. pretty much the same for Todd Fancey, too. Carl should tell everyone in the band to at least pretend like you want to be there for these upcoming tours.

related: there is an incredible dearth of old New Pornos live footage on YouTube. i found a clip from '03 and some stuff from '07 and that's kind of it. (or i don't know where to look.)

There probably isn't a lot of fan footage from the last several years, as Neko bans cell phone recording/photography from both her own gigs and Newpies shows.

The Latin branch of PBS has a cool Challengers-era appearance they filmed in Mexico City for a show called Billboard Studio or something. Quite interesting, as it's sans-Neko and Bejar.

^^Not sure if it's on YT tho.

Thoughts on the new one?

One listen in and nothing really immediately clicked with me. Their albums tend to reveal themselves to me upon repeat listens, though.

It clicked.

It's good. Not top tier NPs, but good.

i miss bejar! but this record is really good

I like this more than their past few; it's a little peppier/zippier. They were sounding more & more "over-the-hill" with every release, to the point I kept mistaking each new LP for their swan song.

Bejar’s absence certainly contributes to what feels like a lack of variety.

I'm not usually big on strings in rock songs; but they sound so "grafted on" here that it almost works for me in a "That's interesting..." kinda way.

I like this more than their past few; it's a little peppier/zippier. They were sounding more & more "over-the-hill" with every release, to the point I kept mistaking each new LP for their swan song.

― #YABASIC (morrisp), Monday, September 30, 2019 11:27 AM (forty-five minutes ago)

You should re-listen, I think? This one is a little less peppier/zippier than their last two, which firmly allayed any (rightful, after Together) concerns about them being over the hill.

I actually am revisiting "Whiteout Conditions" as we speak...

Strings or keyboards? They got two keyboardists now.

They sound like strings, maybe they’re synths, I dunno

Ambition fails them when the keys or synths smother good songs ("Dreamlike and On the Rush") and mediocre ones ("Leather on the Seat") in hysterical swells.

I like it a lot on first listen, though I wish there were more guitars.

I wish there were more Bejars.

there is an incredible dearth of old New Pornos live footage on YouTube. i found a clip from '03 and some stuff from '07 and that's kind of it.

weirdly of this small number of videos, two of these were from the one and only time I saw them in Seattle which was kind of cool to watch again.

I was 33 and saw Animal Collective the night before where my wife and I felt very, very old. This show was full of greying music nerds with at least a few pregnant women and we felt much more at home

I really really loved Whiteout Conditions—easily their best this decade; I listen to it as much as their first four classic albums.

Unfortunately I’m super lukewarm on the new album. Takes a lot of elements of the last album and smooths them out. It’s just missing that intangible oomph.

I'm of the opposite opinion: liked WC well enough, quite like this one except for the last couple tracks. Their best since Twin Cinema, but my suspicion of power pop means I miss the subtleties of their albums after 2005 (and don't think Bejar works at all).

suspicion of power pop?

Whiteout Conditions and Morse Code definitely feel cut from the same cloth—no Bejar, guitars pushed back and keyboards emphasized, and more of a constant duet between Cass and Wilson. That shift in sound felt freeing on WC; there was a lightness to it. This time around it feels a little more mannered. Idk.

More songs are rising up on subsequent listens but it still takes a few tracks to really warm up. My favorite NP albums feel stacked with perfection right up front.

Ages ago I emailed talk show host Rob Simone to ask what this song was and the answer made no sense until some more recent googling tuned it up. Will always be associated with Area 51 etc.

https://youtu.be/09Ix2inAWaI

saw these guys live last week and the songs from the new album generally sounded excellent, especially 'backseat driver.'

They rolled through town Tuesday and i didn’t make it out. Kicking myself ngl

Doing a small tour late this year w/Bejar doing Mass Romantic and Twin Cinema on back-to-back nights.

https://www.thenewpornographers.com/#tour

AC Newman is kind of annoying on the burd app

really wish that tour was coming my way, i would be at twin cinema night for sure