A few nights ago on “The Sound of Young America,” the syndicated radio show hosted by former KZSC star Jesse Thorn, New Pornographers founder and frontman Carl Newman let fly with the kind of self-deprecating statement that makes everyone love Canadians. “We just can’t take ourselves seriously as rock stars,” he said, explaining the group’s penchant for satirical videos.
Could have fooled me and my earworms, which have been on a steady diet of Vancouver-based indie rock riffs since the New Pornographers’ 2010 release Together landed in my car. Today it’s the rocking cello of “Crash Years,” followed by founding member Neko Case’s throaty alto on the descending chorus, followed by peppy group whistling, all set to a driving, car-danceable beat. Yesterday it was the heavy-metal guitar riff that opens “Moves,” then gives way to an addictive one-two jangle and Newman’s syncopated tenor. The day before that, it was the high-energy “Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk.” This is not rock & roll like, say, the Foo Fighters do it, with relentless forward hammering energy. It’s more like a huge orchestra of rock and indie sounds united by a commitment to complexity and, above all, fun.
Newman said as much in his conversation with Thorn, though I’ll have to paraphrase, since I was chopping vegetables rather than taking notes. What he said was along the lines of, “You know how there are bands that are excellent? And then there are bands that are really fun but they’re not that great? We wanted to be both.”
When the New Pornographers take the stage at the Rio this Sunday, it will be with an almost-full lineup (minus brilliant founding member Dan Bejar) that includes Newman, Case and keyboardist/vocalist Kathryn Calder, who joined the band in 2005 primarily as a live show substitute for Case, whose solo career was taking off. Vocally the two are very different; Case’s voice has a sassy, willful, first-girlfriend quality, while Calder’s is younger, purer, more blendable. (She’s also Newman’s niece.) We spoke about a week before the Santa Cruz show.
“I really noticed it on this last record, particularly between Carl and I,” Calder said from her hometown of Victoria. “This thing happens where, when you’ve been singing with someone for a long time, you can really glom on to each other. You know how good friends will pick up each other’s mannerisms? There’s a bit of that that comes across.”
Vocals are a huge part of the New Pornographers’ appeal—the harmonies, octave and unison singing give the music a densely textured sound. So do long stretches in the studio. Together was recorded near Newman’s home in Woodstock over a period of several months, with Newman there every day masterminding the show. The result is a classic New Pornographers album.
“Together is closer to all of the records than the other records are to each other,” says Calder. “We took a lot of elements of Challengers and elements of older records and sort of meshed them together.”
THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
Sunday, April 17, 8pm
Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz
Tickets $22/$25 door, available at Streetlight Records and ticketweb.com.
