The New Pornographers – Together

How much you enjoy this, the fifth effort by charmingly off-kilter Canadian Power-Pop supremos, the New Pornographers, will depend greatly on how much you enjoyed their previous record. Challengers pared down the power-chords and trundling hooks from their first three LP’s in favour of a more muted feel that had stolen in during certain portions of Twin Cinema, but never outstayed its welcome. Given how many admirers the collective had amassed on the back of those giddy excesses, there was a predictably mixed reaction.

So the big question is have they ratcheted the amps back up to 11? The answer is no, with a caveat of “Well, maybe a little...” The record certainly couldn’t be accused of torpor, but those searching for another 'Letter From An Occupant' or 'Jackie Dressed In Cobras' had best look elsewhere; this is Saturday afternoon in tone. Friday night has been and gone. Even when the guitars are dusted off for 'Your Hands Together', they seem dutiful rather than truly essential. But what we’re left with, when all is said and done, is still a very fine record. The group might alter the presentation, but the meal remains the same; this is charmingly high-brow pop music. 'Silver Jenny Dollar' bounces along and lodges itself in the mind as if it’s somehow always been there – “It’s true to love her/is all I can do” is a lyric that might very well describe the song itself. 'If You Can’t See My Mirrors' picks up the pace, if not the volume, then 'Valkyrie In The Roller Disco' brings it right back down, and if the group initially perfected the closing track with penultimate effort 'Daughters of Sorrow', they thought better of it and really did a job on actual closer 'We End Up Together'.

Criticisms remain. This might be a fine low-key record, but their chunkier first two efforts remain their zenith. Neko Case could certainly have been used more too, but until her crotch-stirringly powerful lyrics adorn every track ever recorded by every group, then that will remain a gripe. The Pornographers may never be anything other than a band that churn out reliably endearing 4-star records every couple of years but it’s far from a rotten job, and hey, someone’s got to do it.