unpopularblargh
Member
It's pretty damn good. The title track is easily the stand-out so far. Anyone else listen to it yet? Also how cool is it that all three major Canadian indie staples (the other two being Arcade Fire and Broken Social Scene) have new albums out this year so soon one after the other?
Edit: The album did come out in April so this is sort of a LTTP thread.
Pitchfork:
Consequence of Sound:
NOW Toronto:
The Guardian:
The New Pornographers - Whiteout Conditions (Late Show w/Stephen Colbert Live Performance)
Broken Social Scene Thread
Arcade Fire Thread
A quick primer for the new arrivals:
Edit: The album did come out in April so this is sort of a LTTP thread.
Pitchfork:
So its notable that, as the New Pornographers inch ever-closer to the sound of a John Hughes soundtrack, they prove to be almost apologetically devoid of vanity themselves. (They still shrug off that theyre a supergroup despite A.C. Newman, Neko Case, and Dan Bejars considerable individual fame.) Whiteout Conditions packs the most blanket pep of the power-pop groups seven albums, dense with that particular new wave brand of electronic two-for-oneinsistent, tinny arpeggio synths pinpricking rich, sweeping base chords.
Consequence of Sound:
For many, their previous effort, Brill Bruisers, marked a strong return to power-pop form after a mellower turn on a few albums (Challengers and Together) that some found underwhelming after the technicolor triumph of 2005s Twin Cinema. Whiteout Conditions shares much of the sonic palette of its predecessor, with most of the songs having a kind of taut sound that resembles recent work by The Strokes and Phoenix more than the NPs of yore. But the closest analog might be Electric Light Orchestra, with peppermint swirls of synth, crunchy guitars, vocal effects, and occasional bursts of faux-orchestral strings and horns,
NOW Toronto:
There was a moment after the New Pornographers released their third album, 2005s Twin Cinema, when it felt like the Vancouver supergroup would spend the rest of their days making album after album of near-perfect power-pop.
But the band lost some spark by the time they got to 2007s lifeless Challengers. It didnt fully return for 2010s Together either. Had this funk occurred early on in their career, they might've folded and gone their separate ways, but the New Pornos were lucky enough to reach a third act.
With the release of 2014s Brill Bruisers, they regained their mojo by going sparklier and faster, while utilizing synthesizers as more of a songwriting tool. Now their seventh album, Whiteout Conditions, finds the band exploring synths even further, as well as non-traditional rock drumming. Lead Porno Carl Newman has described the new sound as bubblegum Krautrock and its an accurate tag.
The Guardian:
Since 2014s acclaimed Brill Bruisers, the Vancouver collective have lost founding drummer Kurt Dahle and (at least for now) songwriter Dan Bejar (also of Destroyer) and set up their own label, but the upheaval has simply changed their course slightly, rather than knocking them off it. Now, Carl Newman and Neko Case are singing together at least as much as separately, while new sticksman Joe Seiders brings his own motorik groove and drum machines. Newman has said that they were aiming to be the Krautrock 5th Dimension, and theres definitely more of the latter in Whiteout Conditions exuberant pile-up of harmonies, hooks and powerpop.
The New Pornographers - Whiteout Conditions (Late Show w/Stephen Colbert Live Performance)
Broken Social Scene Thread
Arcade Fire Thread
A quick primer for the new arrivals:
Um, there are three Canadian supergroups (BSS, Arcade Fire, New Pornographers) to go with the three Canadian provinces (Ontario, Quebec, B.C., respectively). This is just science.