Soundbites

The New Pornographers
“Electric Version”
Mint/Matador Records

The New what? That’s right, The New Pornographers are
exposing the bare skin of a rock ‘n’ roll that
doesn’t need a blanket of feedback or scratchy vocals to hide
a lack of talent. On its upcoming album, the Vancouver-based band
proves that it is possible to get heads bobbing with music that is
actually interesting and (hold onto your hats you diehard emo kids)
happy. With a name that brings to mind either the all-too-familiar
cheesy bass riffs of late night video rentals or what you pretend
your boyfriend isn’t watching on his bachelor evenings, it
may come as a surprise that the sex and drug angst is frankly
missing from this group’s rock ‘n’ roll. Instead,
“Electric Version” offers its listeners a long-awaited
sound to a music scene that has not yet fully recovered from the
moping of early ’90s grunge rock.  “Electric
Version” is pop music that knows how to rock, or rock
‘n’ roll that pays its respects to the endless
possibilities of melody, arrangement and vocal harmony. Each song
takes its own unique shape, and the riffs along with the lyrics are
refreshingly unpredictable. But despite the obvious ingenuity that
has gone into crafting the album, the guitars have not forgotten
their comfortable bar chords, and the drums keep a beat going
that’s strong enough to work any crowd. It can be hard these
days just to find an album that captures that certain feel-good
vibe without overboarding into a sea of embarrassing
cheesiness.  Yet The New Pornographers seems to be quite
capable of maintaining the balance between cheerful and cool. 
“Electric Version” is an album you can sing along
slaphappy to as loud as you want, even when the car windows are
down. -Erin Glass