CD reviews: The New Pornographers, Ty Segall, Brad Paisley
On their new album, Brill Bruisers, The New Pornographers waste no time in getting jubilant. The album opens with a bang and clash that throws us right into the action and immediately establishes an atmosphere, Shakespeare-style.
Brill Bruisers
Matador/Last Gang
On their new album, Brill Bruisers, The New Pornographers waste no time in getting jubilant. The album opens with a bang and clash that throws us right into the action and immediately establishes an atmosphere, Shakespeare-style.
In the course of the 44-minute album, the Canadian collective (including indie luminaries Neko Case, Dan Bejar and AC Newman) cover a lot of musical ground, but the real glue isn’t a style so much as an infectious energy.
Twinkling video-game bleeps and bloops are sprinkled throughout the album. The title track blends 1960s flowery psychedelia with a Shins-like sensibility. War on the East Coast had me thinking of Rocky Horror Picture Show, campy and cute.
Following their seminal 2005 Twin Cinema, the band released a series of forgettable, uninspiring albums, simply regurgitating their original hit formula. Finally: change.
Brill Bruisers is The New Pornographers’ riskiest release to date, and also their most mature. It’s not a perfect album but it’s progress. One small step for music, one giant leap for The New Pornographers.
