Together seems to be the word of the year for Canadian supergroup The New Pornographers. And I guess as an album title for a collective of musicians from different acts that every couple of years come “together” to record new music it is fairly apt. Here we have their fifth LP Together, one which again tries to upset what The New Pornographers were always so good at. Some of their power-pop anthems present on Mass Romantic, The Electric Version and Twin Cinema stand as some of the best of last decade. Then came 2007’s Challengers, a shot in the dark, completly mixing up what they did best. What they crafted was a much more subtle, slower and more intricate album. But, didn’t we just want to hear another “Use It” or “Letter From An Occupant?”
Having said that, I’m not of the impression that Challengers is a bad album. Yes, it pales in comparison but is full of some really great tracks (Truth be told, the first New Pornographers song was Challenger’s single “Myriad Harbor.”).
Neither is Together. In fact, it’s pretty damn good, and better than Challengers. The issue is what the New Pornographers stripped from their sound: the energy which made their pre-Challengers records so exciting and thrilling. Together captures glimpses of a return to that sound; “Your Hands (Together)” has crunching guitars which are misleading in the way that they never appear again. Single “Crash Years” has a pace unlike singles such as “Challengers” ever did. Tracks alternate between striking similarities and differences; take Dan Bejar lead “Silver Jenny Dollar” compared with the subtle piano and guitars of “My Shepard.” The main difference you come to realise between Challengers and Together is that no song is particular dull or unexciting. The same cannot be said for several tracks on Challengers. The first 3 LP’s were catchy and brilliant slices of power-pop. Together doesn’t have this, but in it’s place is a lovely quality which is unmatched to those albums.
From here, Together powers through 3 minute tracks, with other highlights including horn lead “A Bite Out Of My Bed,” and the dramatic closer “We End Up Together” which at nearly six minutes builds up the way a closer should do; it may in fact be the highlight of the album and a case of leaving the best for last.
The comparisons to Challengers are more than appropriate. The New Pornographers changed everything with that 2007 LP and disappointed many fans. Together addresses this by taking again a different angle to their music, but managing to do it in a much more exciting way. There is an unmistakable beauty to many of the tracks on Together, the very same band who seemed completed tired on Challengers. Give this a chance. This won’t be the album The New Pornographers are remembered for, but is a well- earned step up. No, it isn’t as good as a Mass Romantic or a Twin Cinema. But really, did you expect it to be?
Hold the Sound. 