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The New Pornographers

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The New Pornographers
The band onstage
The New Pornographers at Prospect Park Bandshell, July 11, 2015
Background information
OriginVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
GenresIndie rock, power pop, post-punk revival
Years active1997–present
Labels
Members
Past members
Websitethenewpornographers.com

The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock band, formed in 1997 in Vancouver. Presented as a musical collective and supergroup[1] of singer-songwriters and musicians from multiple projects, the band has released nine studio albums to date. The band have received critical acclaim for their use of multiple vocalists and songwriters, as well as for the elements of power pop incorporated into their music.[2] Pitchfork has described the band's sound as "peppy, gleeful, headstrong guitar pop",[3] while Stereogum has retrospectively praised the band's debut album Mass Romantic as "one of the greatest and most immediate power pop albums ever rendered".[1]

History

[edit]

The New Pornographers' name was chosen by Carl Newman, who has said that he came up with it after watching a Japanese film called The Pornographers.[4] The band has released nine albums to date: Mass Romantic (2000), Electric Version (2003), Twin Cinema (2005), Challengers (2007), Together (2010), Brill Bruisers (2014), Whiteout Conditions (2017), In the Morse Code of Brake Lights (2019), and Continue as a Guest (2023). A live album recorded on their 2006 tour is available only at concerts and on the band's website. In 2005, the band was the subject of Reginald Harkema's documentary film Better Off in Bed.[5]

The New Pornographers' first four albums each placed in the top 40 on The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a New Pornographers' album or a solo album from one of the band's members ranked in the top 40 on the list each year.[6] In 2007, Blender magazine ranked the New Pornographers' first album, Mass Romantic, the 24th best indie album of all time.[7] In 2009, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the band's second studio album, Electric Version, No. 79 in the "100 Best Albums of the Decade".[8]

All of the New Pornographers' original members were prominent within the Vancouver music scene prior to forming the band. Kathryn Calder, who is also Newman's niece, joined the band in 2005 largely as a live replacement for Neko Case, whose solo career often left her unavailable to perform with the band. Calder's first lead vocals for the band were on 2007's Challengers, singing the lead on "Failsafe" and sharing the lead with Newman on "Adventures in Solitude".[citation needed]

In 2009, the New Pornographers contributed a cover of the Destroyer song "Hey, Snow White" to the AIDS benefit album Dark Was the Night, produced by the Red Hot Organization. The band released their fifth album, Together, on May 4, 2010, on Matador Records. The album includes collaborations from St. Vincent, Beirut's Zach Condon, and Okkervil River's Will Sheff.[9]

In 2012, the New Pornographers contributed a cover of the song "Think About Me" for the Fleetwood Mac tribute CD called Just Tell Me That You Want Me released by Hear Music. The band's sixth album, Brill Bruisers, was released on August 26, 2014.[10] The album was their highest charting to date in the United States, peaking at #13 on the Billboard 200.[11]

On January 26, 2017, the New Pornographers announced their seventh album, Whiteout Conditions, would be released on April 7. The album was preceded by the single "High Ticket Attractions".[12] The album is the first to feature drummer Joe Seiders as a full-time member after replacing drummer Kurt Dahle in mid-2014. It is also the first New Pornographers album to not feature Dan Bejar.[13] Newman, however, went on the record to note that Bejar's absence did not mean he had left the band entirely; telling Stereogum:

he [Bejar] was right in the middle of doing a Destroyer record... [w]hich was something we'd narrowly skirted for our whole career. I'm always amazed that we managed to. Sometimes we avoided Destroyer, sometimes Destroyer avoided us, but eventually we hit at the same time. It wasn't anything weird.[14]

On November 29, 2018, A.C. Newman announced via Twitter that he had begun work on a future New Pornographers album.[15] On August 2, 2019, the band announced via Twitter that it would release its new album, In the Morse Code of Brake Lights, on September 27, and released its first single from the album, "Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile".[16] In a press release for the album, Dan Bejar is described as a "former (and possibly future) member" of the band. The new press photos for the band include vocalist/violinist Simi Stone, officially inducting her into the band after being an auxiliary touring member since 2015.

In July 2021, the band announced a North American tour where they would play Mass Romantic and Twin Cinema in full across simultaneous nights, as well as a reissue of Mass Romantic on vinyl. This announcement also confirmed the return of Bejar to the band, as well as the departure of both Thurier and Stone.[17]

On January 9, 2023, A.C. Newman announced via Twitter that the band had moved to a new label, Merge Records, alongside announcing the band's ninth album Continue as a Guest, a single from the album, "Really Really Light", and a tour starting in April. The band's press photos confirmed Bejar's second departure from the group – although he has a co-writing credit on "Really Really Light".[18][19]

Members

[edit]

Current members

Members' other projects in brackets

Current touring musicians

  • Nora O'Connor – backing vocals, percussion (The Flat Five) (2021–present)
  • Adam Schatz – saxophone, synthesizer (Japanese Breakfast) (2023–present)[20][21]

Former members

Former touring musicians

  • Lindsay "Coco" Hames – backing vocals, percussion, acoustic guitar (The Ettes) (2014)

Timeline

[edit]

Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]
List of studio albums, with selected details and chart positions
Title Details Peak chart positions
CAN
[11] 		AUS
Hit.
[23] 		SCO
[24] 		UK
[25] 		UK
Indie
[26] 		US
[27] 		US
Indie
[28] 		US
Rock
[29]
Mass Romantic
  • Released: November 21, 2000
  • Label: Mint
  • Formats: CD, LP
 — — — — — — — —
Electric Version
  • Released: May 6, 2003
  • Label: Mint/Matador
  • Formats: CD, LP
 — — — — — 196 12 —
Twin Cinema
  • Released: August 23, 2005
  • Label: Mint/Matador
  • Formats: CD, LP
 — — — — — 44 5 —
Challengers
  • Released: August 21, 2007
  • Label: Matador
  • Formats: CD, LP
 — — — 156 13 34 4 10
Together
  • Released: May 4, 2010
  • Label: Matador
  • Formats: CD, LP
 14 16 — 168 18 18 2 5
Brill Bruisers 14 3 94 132 32 13 2 3
Whiteout Conditions 82 17 — — — 35 — 6
In the Morse Code of Brake Lights
  • Released: September 27, 2019
  • Label: Concord Records
  • Formats: CD, LP, streaming
 — — — — — 144 — 26
Continue as a Guest
  • Released: March 31, 2023
  • Label: Merge Records
  • Formats: CD, LP, streaming
 — — — —[A] 45 —[B] — —
"—" denotes a release that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Live albums

[edit]
  • Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) (2005)
  • Live! (2006)
  • LIVE from SoHo (iTunes Exclusive) (2008)

Singles

[edit]
List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
CAN
Rock
[32] 		AUT
[33] 		US
AAA
[34] 		US
Rock
Air
[35] 		MEX
Air
[36] 		UK
[25]
"Letter from an Occupant"[37] 2002 — — — — — 139 Mass Romantic
"High Art, Local News"[38] 2005 — — — — — — Twin Cinema
"Twin Cinema"[39] — — — — — —
"Use It"[38] — — — — — —
"Sing Me Spanish Techno"[38] — — — — — —
"Challengers"[40] 2007 — — — — — — Challengers
"My Rights Versus Yours"[41] — — — — — —
"The Spirit of Giving"[42] — — — — — — Non-album single
"Myriad Harbour"[43] 2008 — — — — — — Challengers
"Mutiny, I Promise You"[44] — — — — — —
"Hey, Snow White"[45] 2009 — 46 — — — — Dark Was the Night
"Your Hands (Together)"[46] 2010 43 — — — 16 — Together
"Crash Years"[47] — — — — — —
"Togetherness"[38] — — — — — — Non-album single
"Moves"[48] 2011 — — — — — — Together
"Up in the Dark"[49] — — — — — —
"Brill Bruisers"[50] 2014 24 — — — — — Brill Bruisers
"War on the East Coast"[51] — — — — — —
"Dancehall Domine"[52] — — — — — —
"Champions of Red Wine"[53] 2015 — — — — — —
"High Ticket Attractions"[54] 2017 27 — 5 49 — — Whiteout Conditions
"This Is the World of the Theatre"[55] — — — — — —
"Whiteout Conditions"[56] — — 24 — — —
"Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile"[57] 2019 — — 12 — — — In the Morse Code of Brake Lights
"The Surprise Knock"[58] — — — — — —
"One Kind of Solomon"[59] — — — — — —
"Really Really Light"[60] 2023 — — 24 — — — Continue as a Guest
"Angelcover" — — – — — —
"Pontius Pilate's Home Movies" — — – — — —
"—" denotes a release that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Contributions with non-LP songs

[edit]

Other contributions

[edit]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Continue as a Guest did not enter the UK Albums Chart, but peaked at number 87 on the UK Album Downloads Chart.[30]
  2. ^ Continue as a Guest did not enter the US Billboard 200, but peaked at number 25 on the US Top Album Sales Chart.[31]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Bracy, Timothy and Elizabeth (October 11, 2013). "The 10 Best New Pornographers Songs". Stereogum. Stereogum Media. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  2. ^ Wolk, Douglas. "The New Pornographers, 'Twin Cinema' (Matador)". SPIN Magazine. SPIN. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  3. ^ Juzwiak, Rich. "The New Pornographers: Mass Romantic". Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  4. ^ Handler, Shane (November 1, 2005). "The New Pornographers: Canadian Blockbuster". Glide Magazine. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
  5. ^ "Harkema's road rockumentary inspired by the Rolling Stones". Edmonton Journal, July 22, 2005.
  6. ^ "Pazz & Jop awards from". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  7. ^ "100 Greatest Indie-Rock Albums of all time, No. 30 – No. 21, from". Blender.com. November 15, 2007. Archived from the original on April 9, 2008. Retrieved July 25, 2009.
  8. ^ "Rolling Stone lists Top 100 of decade". CBC News. December 10, 2009. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  9. ^ Lindsay, Andrew (February 22, 2010). "The New Pornographers reveal album details". Stereokill.net. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  10. ^ Gordon, Jeremy (June 10, 2014). "The New Pornographers Announce New Album Brill Bruisers, Share Title Track, Tour". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  11. ^ a b "US Billboard Charts". Billboard. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
  12. ^ Helman, Peter (January 26, 2017). "The New Pornographers – "High Ticket Attractions"". Stereogum. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  13. ^ Giles, Jeff (January 27, 2017). "New Pornographers Announce 'Whiteout Conditions' LP, Release 'High Ticket Attractions' Single". Spin.com. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  14. ^ Leas, Ryan (March 17, 2017). "Q&A: A.C. Newman On Canadian Healthcare, Dan Bejar, And The New Pornographers' Whiteout Conditions". Stereogum. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  15. ^ @ACNewman (November 30, 2018). "Hey, working on a new @TheNewPornos album everybody" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ Shaffer, Claire (August 2, 2019). "The New Pornographers Announce New Album, Share Lead Single". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  17. ^ Minsker, Evan (July 13, 2021). "The New Pornographers Announce Mass Romantic Reissue, Full Album Tour". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  18. ^ @ACNewman (January 9, 2023). "A few things: 1) ⁦@TheNewPornos⁩ signed to ⁦@mergerecords! 2) New LP 'Continue as a Guest' out 3/31! 3) New song 'Really Really Light' available today! 4) New tour starts in April! 5) Can you buy tickets? Probably! I'll post a link soon, or if not me, someone!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Monroe, Jazz (January 9, 2023). "The New Pornographers Announce Album, Share Song: Listen". Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  20. ^ Walters, Grant (May 8, 2023). "Concert Preview: The New Pornographers at Newport Music Hall". Columbus Underground. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  21. ^ "Japanese Breakfast expand their palate; play songs from". www.thecurrent.org. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  22. ^ Cohen, Katherine (July 14, 2015). "AC Newman on the last bit of the New Pornographers' 'Brill Bruisers' tour from". nuvo.net. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
  23. ^ Peaks on the ARIA Hitseekers chart:
  24. ^ Peaks on the Scottish Albums chart:
  25. ^ a b "UK Chartlog: Nadanuf – Michael Nyman". zobbel.de. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
  26. ^ Peaks in UK Independent Albums Chart:
  27. ^ "The New Pornographers – Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  28. ^ "The New Pornographers – Chart History: Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  29. ^ "The New Pornographers – Chart History: Rock Albums". Billboard. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  30. ^ "Continue as a Guest – The New Pornographers". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  31. ^ "The New Pornographers – Chart History: Top Album Sales". Billboard. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  32. ^ "The New Pornographers – Chart History: Canada Rock". Billboard. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  33. ^ "The New Pornographers – Austrian Charts". austriancharts.at/. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  34. ^ "The New Pornographers – Chart History: Triple A Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  35. ^ "The New Pornographers – Chart History: Rock Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  36. ^ "The New Pornographers – Chart History: Mexico Ingles Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  37. ^ "Letter from an Occupant > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved April 16, 2009.[dead link]
  38. ^ a b c d "Matador - The New Pornographers". Matador. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  39. ^ "New New Pornographers: 'Twin Cinema'". Stereogum. May 2, 2005. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  40. ^ "Challengers by The New Pornographers on Apple Music". Apple Music. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  41. ^ "The New Pornographers – "My Rights Versus Yours"". Stereogum. May 29, 2007. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  42. ^ "The Spirit of Giving - EP by The New Pornographers on Apple Music". Apple Music. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  43. ^ Singh, Amrit (February 14, 2008). "New New Pornographers – "Myriad Harbour"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  44. ^ Stosuy, Brandon (September 29, 2008). "New New Pornographers – "Mutiny, I Promise You"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  45. ^ Stosuy, Brandon (February 6, 2009). "New New Pornographers – "Hey, Snow White"". Stereogu. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  46. ^ "Your Hands (Together) by The New Pornographers on Apple Music". Apple Music. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  47. ^ "Crash Years - Single by The New Pornographers on Apple Music". Apple Music. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  48. ^ Singh, Amrit (February 7, 2011). "The New Pornographers – "Moves"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  49. ^ "Up in the Dark by The New Pornographers on Apple Music". Apple Music. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  50. ^ "Future Releases on Triple A (AAA) Radio Stations". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014.
  51. ^ "War on the East Coast by The New Pornographers on Apple Music". Apple Music. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  52. ^ Deville, Chris (October 1, 2014). "The New Pornographers – "Dancehall Domine"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  53. ^ Breihan, Tom (May 28, 2015). "The New Pornographers – "Champions Of Red Wine"". Stereogu. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  54. ^ Gaca, Anna (January 27, 2017). "The New Pornographers Announce New Album Whiteout Conditions, Share "High Ticket Attractions"". Spin.com. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  55. ^ Helman, Peter (February 24, 2017). "The New Pornographers – "This Is the World of the Theater"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  56. ^ "Whiteout Conditions by The New Pornographers on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  57. ^ "Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile by The New Pornographers on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  58. ^ Breihan, Tom (August 23, 2019). "The New Pornographers Share New Song "The Surprise Knock": Listen". Stereogum. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  59. ^ Breihan, Tom (September 13, 2019). "The New Pornographers – "One Kind of Solomon"". Stereogum. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  60. ^ Geraghty, Hollie (January 10, 2023). "The New Pornographers announce new album 'Continue as a Guest' and share single 'Really Really Light'". NME. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
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