album #2

the slow wonder (a.c. newman)

There was a phase when pretty much everything touched by the octopus of the New Pornographers piqued my interest. This record was the first time I looked into their solo work, to see what my favorite member, the master, would come up with. In one sense it's a little boring, a little foresty- the instrumental choices are more subdued, it's less of the explosive, propulsive, pure sugar rush of the New Pornographers. In retrospect it just now hits me that this hints at their future, more subdued output, coming as it does after their last Awesome album and before their ongoing series of Good but sweeter, softer, vaguely duller albums.

Still, this is a gold album. I've always loved "On The Table," something about the sweet, metronomic strike of the keyboards. And "Miracle Drug" is a stud, the great drums, the best guitar lick on the record. A few of the tracks are a little more plodding and have a bit of a southwestern twang in the guitars, and they're all right. "Come Crash" is a song I absolutely loved when I was younger, now it strikes me as perhaps a little too obvious- the beat too heavy, the lyrics too sing-songy, the guitar melodramatic. I still net like it though. "35 In The Shade" is a really good one, a pulsing, dramatic, weird song- this feels like The New Pornographers, in a way I really like. Even the drumming. Heck, "The Town Halo" is good too- the more I listen, the more I remember that every song is pretty good, really.

I don't particularly go to this album, but it's always been solid- well crafted melodies, some interesting lyrics. A great Starbucks record- I hate saying that, it's so pejorative and pretentious, but it feels like the right adjective. Inoffensively lovely, exciting and different without being weird. Overall, the solo work of the other top Pornographer, Dan Bejar, ended up having a much stronger, more lasting influence in my personal taste.