The New Pornographers

The New Pornographers has been the pride and joy of Vancouver’s indie music scene for quite some time. Formed in 1997 and signed to Matador Records, the group is fronted by the acclaimed Carl Newman and made up of eight other members who all have their own other projects on the side, such as Neko Case, John Collins of The Evaporators and Kathryn Calder of Immaculate Machine. Together, The New Pornographers have steadily recorded four full-length albums, starting in 2000 with Mass Romantic to this year’s August release of Challengers.

With such a large gathering of talented individuals, The New Pornographers’ sound has always been instrumentally complex woven with rich, complex harmonies. Their newest album offers this polished sound with even greater maturity, both lyrically and instrumentally. While fans of the band’s old albums might initially find the songs on Challengers more restrained and less fun, I would describe this album as “wholesome” – less sugary and more nourishing.

The New Pornographers will be taking their powerpop-cum-organic rock on tour starting mid-September. They will first tour Europe before returning to North America for a Vancouver show at the end of September. From there, the band will move east to Montreal and play the U.S. until the beginning of November. For a night of memorable music and remarkable talent, catch The New Pornographers at one of their many stops. For a complete list of tour dates, visit the band’s website at www.thenewpornographers.com.