The New Pornographers have been around since 2000 when they released their debut album, Mass Romantic. Five years later the Canadian supergroup released Twin Cinema, the bands third album. Now this is pop music but not in a bad way. When some of you hear pop music you imediately think of bands such as Good Charlotte and Simple Plan. The New Pornographers sound nothing like those bands but they still play pop or indie-pop music. Being released in 2005 this album got some spotlight and a good amount of people beleive that this is one of the best albums in 2005.
I don't usually listen to pop music, I admit that I find the genre quite annoying and repetetive. However I really enjoy the New Pornographers and have been a fan since I heard their debut back in 2003. On Twin Cinema the music is bright, upbeat, quirky, and most of all poppy. Catchy hooks, quirky melodies, and upbeat guitar riffs. All of these songs are well written and there are enough hooks and catchy melodies to keep you coming back for more.
When you listen to Twin Cinema two things can happen. One, this music can just piss you off and put you in a crappy mood. The upbeat and overjoyous nature of the album can just get extremely annoying and make you want to break something in half. The other thing that can happen is that the music can just put you in a happy mood. If you enjoy upbeat and joyful pop music than you should definately look into this because this is indie-pop heaven. If you haven't heard a song by this band than you might want to give them a listen before you purchase anything because indie-pop music can get very annoying if it's not your thing.
This is possibly one of the sweetest and easy-going albums I have ever listened too. The instrumentation is really simple and the music is not complex at all. The guitar plays the biggest role in the music, playing swwet and upbeat riffs and melodies. The guitar does an excellent job at keeping this music poppy and quirky, and when the New Pornographers decide to slow things down the guitar does just as well at playing softer, more heartworming lines. The keyboard does a decent job along with the guitar. I mean it plays simple chords and scales but it does its job keeping things poppy and quirky. The drums provide a solid rhythm section, not playing a big role put it gets the job done. The drums are very simple, just like the rest of the instruments. The bass doesn't do to much either, accomplishing to pull off a few nice lines here and there but overall it is a very forgettable instrument. The instruments are extremely simple, but remember that is a good thing considering it sets an upbeat and playful mood of the album.
When The New Pornographers decide to slow things down things don't go so good. The songs are still well crafted and easy to listen too but the poppy and somewhat rockish edge to the songs are lost. The songs seem dull and incredibely uninspired. I realize that the songs are supposed to be more mellow and sweet but they just come out as dull and uninspired. The good thing is that the New Pornographers don't usually slow things down, but when they do everything is lost, including the happy and quirky nature of the album.
Neko Case has a sweet, quirky, sugary and poppy voice. Her sidekick Newman has a brilliant voice that fits in perfectly with indie or power pop music. Case usually takes the lead on most of these tracks, and she sound like a 16 year old school girl that just got a new car. Her voice is quirky, playful and she sounds somewhat rebellious. Her voice mixes almost perfectly with the power pop sound of the album and she does a great job. While Case is the strong and main vocalist Newman does his fair share. Newman has a high-pitched voice and his backing vocals are superb. Newman keeps things upbeat and his sugary vocals keep things sweet and melodic. All in all the vocals are the highlight of the album and they are the main ingrediant that keep things upbeat and playful.
Overall this is one hell of a power/indie-pop album. Most of these songs are upbeat and playful, dominated by sugary guitar riffs and hearwarming female vocals coming from Neko Case. The big downside the album is that the music will annoy a lot of people and sometimes it gets on my nerves if I'm not in the mood. The New Pornographers slow things down on occasion and the result isn't good. Those songs come off as boring, uninspired and it sucks out the power pop energy Twin Cinema. I would highly recommend this for fans of indie-pop or for someone who wants something poppy and playful. All in all Twin Cinema is an excellent pop album but there are too many tracks that hold this album back from being one of the best of 2005.
