The New Pornographers
High Ticket Attractions 7''
Concord
2017
Rating: 7 fancy door cyborgs out of 10
Another promo seven inch I snagged on the cheap, this one promoting the 2017 album from the New Pornographers, "Whiteout Conditions." The A-side is the perfectly cromulent "High Ticket Attractions," which sounds exactly like a New Pornographers song should - shiny, poppy, bright, full, other adjectives. I suppose the B-side is what makes this promo a keeper - a non-album track, specifically a cover of the Jigsaw song "Sky High." Leave it to a pack of Canadians to cover Jigsaw of all bands.
Zumpano
Wraparound Shades 7''
Sub Pop
1994
Rating: 7 salmon wheels out of 10
Zumpano was a great, short lived power pop band out of Vancouver that is probably best known these days as where AC Newman got his start. Newman of course went on to some solo success and more visibly with his all-star band the New Pornographers. It doesn't take a strong imagintion to hear these Zumpano songs and not hear where Newman ended up, they're all cut from the same cloth. The title track is especially catchy.
A.C. Newman
The Slow Wonder
Matador
2004
Rating: 7.5 dinosaur babes out of 10
In case you were unaware, A.C. Newman is one of the main cats from that
ultra-hip super-group, the New Pornographers; and if you didn’t already know that he was the brains
behind that operation (with a little help from Dan Bejar of Destroyer fame), it will become incredibly obvious
after your first listen of this record. This album has a great, summertime feel to it, like riding down the
Great Highway in a convertible watching the surf wash up against the dead whale carcasses. If you know and love
the output of the New Pornographers, or even Newman’s previous band Zumpano, you’ll get along
well with this album of glistening retro-pop. In fact, if you threw a couple of guest vocal spots on here
from Neko Case, you’d probably assume it was a New Pornographers album. This release bustles right
along, and although it registers only a half hour or so of recorded material, it’s the quality that
counts; plus, “leave them wanting more” is a popular expression for a reason. I have a feeling this is
going to get played a lot in my house, car and walkman over the next few months.
