You all have just witnessed history. I just snatched a copy of The New Pornographer's latest release Together and within 20 minutes was hooked by the first 3 songs I decided there was no better opportunity than the present to sit down and write a review. Before I get started I'd like to say that I usually sit down to write after I've gotten to know an album, after it's been on a I-pod loop played to and from campus and my once a week internship-bound drives to Atlanta, so in advance I would like to say that I hope my writing doesn't come off rushed, naive or overly optimistic. Perhaps one day in the future, post my June 26th (first) New Pornographers concert...I will return pen to pad to delve deeper and more analytically into each song.
As a side note, since the album still hasn't "officially" debuted, there are no YouTube videos for me to hyperlink. Luckily, you can check out the entire album at NPR music.
The following are first impressions on first listenings:
Let's start from the place where most things do: the very beginning and Together's opening triad "Move", "The Crash Years", and "Your Hands Together". The epithet Power Pop which has been branded on the Canadian music group never sounded more accurate. When listening to it at full volume you can't help but to be washed over and quite frankly impressed by the cohesiveness of such an unquantifiable amount of sounds: cello, electric guitar, tambourines, keyboards, drums, violins and vocals in "Move" echoing "these things get louder" which is precisely what is happening melodically. The album was definitely front loaded, with weaker tracks sandwiched in the middle;"Silver Jenny Dollar" leading the pack. Perhaps, the trend of songs that just don't reach their full potential reside with the Dan Bejar set. Nevertheless, the album exits on a high note with "We End Up Together". Is the title a promise to fans promising future collaborations especially with the presence of Case and Bejar whose participation is always a shot in the dark? I hope so.
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