Music: The New Pornographers "Mass Romantic"

Continuing with my trend of reviewing old music (I can't figure out the new Shins record, darnit!), I figure I should do one that I know well and thoroughly enjoy. Rarely has a first album sounded so powerful and cohesive as this one, especially since the band itself could be considered a supergroup of sorts. Well, a Canadian one, so the prior band names don't mean anything to you. Oh, and Neko Case, alt-country starlet, is here too.

From the start of Mass Romantic's first song, "Mass Romantic," you can feel both the immediacy and quirky take on pop that has driven this band through three albums. A sinister yet bouncy keyboard riff, Case's black velvet voice (yeah, I totally just typed that), and Kurt Dahle's skipping drums are all present here and throughout the album. A truly great opener. Case's vocal contributions throughout the album heighten the band's sense of diversity.

Carl (or A.C.) Newman takes over after this in two equally great power pop tunes, "The Fake Headlines" and "The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism." A true pop genius, Newman knows how to add instrumentatoin to a song to make it seem just left of a sugary sweet melody. Never is this more apparent than on "Mystery Hours," which pulses with a catchy yet darkly heavy synth line before careening the melody down a hill of Dahle's drums.

Compared to Dan Bejar, though, Newman might as well be writing run of the mill ditties for Alan Jackson. His four entries, "Jackie," "To Wild Homes," "Execution Day," and "Breakin' The Law" are all stand outs and overload the listener in sunshiney melodies while also proving to be downright baffling and impossible to predict. "Jackie" goes from a calm ditty to a Beach Boys-ian burst to a series of harsh pleads to the title gal. Similarly, "Execution Day" is gloriously creepy and "To Wild Homes" is made for cinema. Not film, cinema. Bejar's quartet are highlights.

The only drawback is that I feel the album loses a bit of steam before the Bejar penned closing song, "Breakin' The Law" (which features the great line "liar, liar/everything's on fire"). "Centre For Holy Wars" and "The Mary Martin Show" are fine songs, but almost feel like retreads by the time they arrive late in the album.

Overall, The New Pornographers are great. Period.

MY SCORE: 8.3 (out of 10)