The New Pornographers: Electric Version

Mint Records Inc.

Playing Time: 46:43

D. Malcolm Fairbrother

Upon assembling a stunning collection of stellar musicians under the collective title USA for Africa for the recording of the fund-raising multi-platinum hit song We Are The World, producer Quincy Jones recognized that he had gathered a room filled with more pomposity and ego than anywhere else in the free world with the possible exception of when David Lee Roth played solo. Accordingly, he advised his charges one and all to 'check your ego at the door'. They did, and a one-shot supergroup was well on its way to success, both financial and artistic.

Supergroups come in all shapes and sizes, permeate every musical genre, and have a lifespan that may vary from the performance of one song by an assembly of jamming musicians, to a lengthy career wherein musicians who have achieved fame within the confines of different groups meld into a long-lasting musical entity much like, say, Crosby, Stills, Nash and (when the spirits move him) Young. Whatever their make-up, supergroups invariably face the risk of imploding under the weight of their own egos unless elements allow them to resonate beyond the internal pressures of jealousy and the cult of personal self-destruction. Two such elements are certainly the recognition that they have created something magnificent that transcends the sum of their parts, and the love of playing with other exceptionally talented or equally luminous musicians. Making a few dollars doesn't hurt either, but that alone is no guarantee of longevity in such collaborations.

The New Pornographers -- a moniker that sheds any moral offensiveness when one considers that it is a sharp response to ultra-conservative religious fundamentalist Jimmy Swaggart's treatise, Music: The New Pornography (and apparently Mr. Swaggart's research involved activities much less prurient than music) -- have existed as a concept since 1996 when founding members Carl Newman of the modestly successful group Zumpano and Dan Bejar of Destroyer, two talented singer-songwriters in their own right, teamed up with Limblifter drummer Kurt Dahle, the Evaporators/Thee Goblins' bassist John Collins, and film-maker/cartoonist/keyboardist Blaine Thurier to circulate some stunningly eclectic and energetic tapes to a small inner circle of friends.

By 2001 and with the addition to the ensemble of country alternative singer Neko Case, who arguably was riding the most successful individual career of all the bandmates, the New Pornographers had a Juno-winning first album, Mass Romantic, a song on the soundtrack of the film Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, and numerous rave reviews. By God, they even toured sporadically!

This year, finds Electric Version, the band's sophomore opus reaping more of the same praise, and deservedly so. The role of co-founder Bejar has been somewhat reduced on this work, but amiably; he is now referred to as a 'secret member' (in the non-pornographic sense, I hasten to add, o my children), and although guitarist/keyboardist Todd Fancy is now a member, Bejar penned three of the thirteen tracks on Electric Version (Carl Newman wrote the other ten) and is listed as a contributing vocalist.

Electric Version finds the New Pornographers sounding more like a cohesive entity and less like Mass Romantic's ensemble of weirdly diverse, yet profoundly creative cast of individuals, each one taking a kick at the can, the result being a wildly varied but vastly entertaining CD. Yet, not a whit of creativity or energy is sacrificed in this consolidation of the group's sound; indeed, the results are even more spectacular, hard as that may be to imagine for fans of the first collection.

The band has sacrificed none of their uniqueness and, although their sound is as pleasantly idiosyncratic as their previous work, there are distinct modifications that positively enhance the overall effect of Electric Version. In the past, a witty exuberance combined with a plethora of unique ideas translated into a tendency for the band to fill every microscopic nook and cranny of each song with a hook, line or singer. The overall effect was pleasantly distracting and produced an aural headspin. Like peeling an onion, each replay found something new to engage the listener, and repeated listens did not wear out the band's welcome. On the present CD, the frenetic and full sound is successfully underscored with spaces wherein mood shifts and emotional nuances play off of one another, suggesting a confidence and maturity that, although not exactly missing on the earlier work, was certainly easy to overlook. The supergroup that amazed its audience by amazing one another now sees itself as a cohesive band as it astounds its fans with a distinct but consolidated sound. And what a sound indeed!

Electric Version opens with a double-time drumbeat that explodes into electric guitar vigour and throbbing bass as the song zips along into familiar and catchy New Pornographer territory, driven by an animated vocal that is soon joined by hearty harmonies, choruses that are syllables instead of words, keyboards and synthesizers weaving and zipping all about while the band constructs a brief analogy comparing powerful cars with loud music against a backdrop of the sun¹s electromagnetic field...maybe. Overall, it is unimportant exactly what the lyrical content or the thematic intent of each song might be; it is the overall sound that stops the listener dead in each track. From Blown Speakers changes the pace while sacrificing none of the power generated by the opening cut. A stagger-step vocal engages the listener immediately and a stunning lyric compares the beauty of music from a blown speaker to life itself; crunching guitar chords still leave space for the keyboards, and the vocals to evoke a bittersweet mood that fairly surges into a multi-layered chorus, the magnificence of which cannot be exaggerated.

Neko Case steps to the vocal forefront on the power-pop gem, The Laws Have Changed, trading lines with Carl Newman and proving herself to have a vocal constitution more than suitable for this genre. Compared to her solo country delivery, she blows her own self right out of the water. This is the quintessential pop song, resplendent with sharp hooks, quasi-important lyrics, changes of paces dizzying in their scope, and yet another contagious chorus that one finds echoing in one's head long after the song is over. Many listeners have been drawn to The New Pornographers by this one track, only to be astonished by the band's creative totality.

The End Of Medicine ('are we, are we, are we, are we facing/ the end of all the medicine we're taking?') a melodic yet sinister look at the effects of the rise of super-bacteria as a result of our excessive use of antibiotics -- strange to find oneself singing along with a song about the possible demise of the human race, but not out of whack with the New Pornographers' unusual thematic approach. Indeed, there is not a simple and hackneyed theme to be found on the CD. Ms. Case's vocal prowess is established time and time again on such numbers as the the breathtakingly stirring Miss Teen Word Power ('nobody knows the wreck of the soul the way you do!'), another fast-paced jewel forged by fiery instrumentation, and the frenetic girl-group thrash of All For Swinging You Around, a song that explodes and dances through the verses with memorable impact (while tearing off another page of loose change outrage'), then skids into a melancholic chorus that by the song's end has erupted into yet another transcendental coda of superbly vivid singalong substance.

From the memorable The New Face Of Zero And One -- don't ask; explore this one for yourself -- through Testament To Youth In Verse, a tuneful exploration of youthful sexuality and beauty filtered through the sorry state of modern radio air play that blossoms into a chorus of 'no-no-no's' layers flowering and billowing into a spectacular finale that stays with one long after silence surrounds the listener, each song begs the listener for repeated air play with that rarest of concomitant situations in popular music, the inability to generate boredom.

This critic defies any listener with a knowledge and love of a finely crafted pop song to produce any more worthy proof that the genre is not still a viable outlet for the creative musician than Its Only Divine Right. A snappy drum intro is quickly supplanted by rolling guitar riffs as another captivating vocal feeds the listener enigmatic yet memorable lyrics. A symbolic story unfolds, one that evokes images of John Lennon and Yoko Ono (no names mentioned, just an evocation, mind you) but is probably far from that theme in its intention. Harmonies ride the musical wave in both verse and chorus; refrains composed of words as well as 'ahhhhh's' in turn give way to scorching and soaring lead guitar breaks -- all of this in four minutes that feel more like the flick of a second hand on a musical timepiece -- simply awesome!

The New Pornographers deserve to escape the fate of many of the award-winning 'Best New Whatevers' who slip quietly and irrevocably into well-earned obscurity. For, the evolution of this collection of talented individuals from a supergroup into a cohesive and wildly entertaining band that far exceeds what one might expect from the mere sum of their parts is well underway as evidenced by Electric Version.

The New Pornographers and Electric Version have had significant impact in recent weeks, their appeal building in both critical and popular circles. Television and concert appearances have also been on the increase as their momentum builds. Born in Canada they may be; praised all over the world is a fate that they deserve.