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Listening Too Long To One Song
The New Pornographers @ Prospect Park Bandshell 6/25/2005
It's Only Divine Right / Graceland / Use It / From Blown Speakers / The Bleeding Heart Show / Jackie / Mass Romantic / The Electric Version / Testament To Youth In Verse / Star Bodies / The Laws Have Changed / Sing Me Spanish Techno / The Body Says No / Twin Cinema / The Fake Headlines / All For Swinging You Around / Slow Descent Into Alcoholism / Letter From An Occupant
This was a perfectly fine show, but I'm spoiled by having attended two particularly memorable New Pornographers shows in the past that the band would have a hard time trying to top. This show is notable mainly for the absence of Neko Case. Carl Newman's niece Kathryn Calder played keyboards and subbed in on all of the parts ordinarily sung by Neko and generally did a pretty good job. The sound of Calder's voice was often remarkably similar to that of Case, but she lacked the power and presence that makes Neko's performances on Newman's songs so magnetic and compelling. Calder charmed her way through "Mass Romantic," "All For Swinging You Around," and "Letter From An Occupant," but couldn't quite muster the vocal authority necessary to really sell Neko's parts on "The Laws Have Changed." Still, you've got to hand it to her - she's very young and dealt with the pressure of filling in for an established powerhouse in front of a large audience with admirable grace.
The New Pornographers "Sing Me Spanish Techno" - The band generally seemed underrehearsed while performing the new songs, with the exception of "Sing Me Spanish Techno," which seemed just a little bit more vibrant and energetic than the studio recording. The song is beautifully constructed and the melodies are lovely, though I do wish that Newman had Neko sing lead on the the verses in order to give that part of the song an extra boost and to place more emphasis on the chorus.
I'm still growing into Twin Cinema, to be honest. Whereas the first two New Pornographers albums feel like relentlessly catchy greatest hits compilations, the new record is more of an old fashioned classic rock album with relatively few obvious "hits", but a greater sense of narrative and musical cohesion. It took me several listens to adjust to the shift in emphasis, but getting to know the new material has been a mostly rewarding experience, especially when it comes to the album's centerpiece, a gorgeous Neko-sung ballad titled "These Are The Fables" that I'm planning on giving a proper, thoughtful review at some later date.
Though the sound of the band has not actually changed in any sort of dramatic way, the brilliant, energetic title track is the only song from Twin Cinema that I think would have made much sense on Mass Romantic or Electric Version. Even still, there's a potency and exuberance on even the most low key tracks that set the band apart from most anyone that would commonly be considered to be their contemporaries in the genre of power pop. (Click here to pre-order Twin Cinema from Insound.)
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