FOR THE LAST decade, the demise of Canadian indie stalwarts the New Pornographers has been imminent.
With their new release Together already the best-selling album in the band’s 10-year history and on the eve of a European tour, comes the possibility that the breakup stories might come to an end. For the summer, maybe.
“Ya, well, we never grew up together or went to high school together or lived in the same house, so there has never been a total certainty that we’d all be involved for everything, you know,” says John Collins, who also plays in the band Destroyer along with fellow Pornographer Dan Bejara.
“But ya, I mean, we do manage to get it together somehow. Everyone shows up when they can.”
The New Pornographers was born of the indie scene in Vancouver and, similar to Toronto band Broken Social Scene, consists of bandmates with fingers in many different musical pots. Members include front folk A. C. Newman and songstress Neko Case as well as Dan Bejar, Kurt Dahle, Kathryn Calder, Todd Fancey and Blaine Thurier.
For the new album, the band returns to its rockin’ ways after a rather subdued and mellow effort on Challengers, released in 2007.
Together blends a myriad of genres together in a groovy and infectious rock mashup. The first single, “Your Hands (Together),” demonstrates a return to the riffheavy rock of earlier efforts while songs such as “Silver Jenny Dollar” and “Valkyrie in the Roller Disco” demonstrate that the songwriting talent in the band runs deep.
“Well, you know, I think the last record Paul was trying to, you know, see what he could do in terms of mellow tunes, this time around, more back to what our general normal tendencies are — just to play some heavy rock ’n’ roll,” says Collins. “It is just generally easier for us to do that kinda thing and more fun.”
The band returns to Toronto on June 15 for a concert at the Sound Academy, part of a massive tour, with stops in Europe, the United States and across Canada, from May until August.
“We’ve only sort of got our act together in New York rehearsing,” says Collins. “It was the first time we’ve ever kind of attempted to play some of those tunes together with full arrangements, and it was really fun and it sounded great.”
The band has always had a large fan base south of the border, thanks in part to American singer Neko Case’s growing fame. On a recent episode of Jimmy Fallon, featuring a live performance from the band, they were described as “Canadian indie music icons.”Not bad, says Collins.
“I mean, that’s a pretty flattering description. I don’t know actual musical icons out there still playing,” says Collins. “But I guess we’ve been around long enough that they have to say something nice about us out of respect for our ages.”
For band information, go to www.thenewpornographers.com.
The return of the Cowboy Junkies
In a return to all things ’90s, iconic Canadian artists from the last couple decades are cranking out new releases this summer including a stunning disc from the Cowboy Junkies along with the likes of Gord Downie, Sarah Harmer and the Crash Test Dummies.
The Cowboy Junkies’ (Michael, Margo and Peter Timmins along with Alan Anton) release Renmin Park slid in under the radar to some degree, and that’s a real shame. A stunning album full of life and energy, Renmin Park is the result of a fabulous collection of musicians with a lot of music left in them to give.
Do yourself a favour, and visit latentrecordings.com, to listen to and purchase the album.