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New Pornographers Album: A Mellow Baritone Guitar Obsession
23 Aug
Summary
- Challengers album leans into mellow moods and baritone guitar.
- Band members continue to step up their game and contribute.
- Album feels more like a sequel to Newman's solo work than prior band efforts.
The New Pornographers' album Challengers is characterized by a mellow mood and a distinct obsession with baritone guitar. This sonic direction positions the record more as a follow-up to frontman Carl Newman's solo album, The Slow Wonder, rather than a direct successor to the band's own Twin Cinema.
Despite the band's reluctance to be labeled a 'supergroup,' their collaborative nature and the rising profiles of members such as Neko Case and Dan Bejar contribute to this perception. Challengers sees individual members like drummer Kurt Dahle and Kathryn Calder further refining their contributions.
However, the album's mature sound and deliberate pacing, marked by string sections and French horns, occasionally detract from the band's signature energetic power-pop. Tracks like "My Rights Versus Yours" and "All the Old Showstoppers" reflect this more subdued approach.
Even Dan Bejar's contribution, "Myriad Harbour," features characteristic vocal stylings but lacks the expansive feel of his previous work, suggesting a cohesive, albeit mellower, artistic direction for Challengers.
