Music Collection - N (Part 1 of 2)
New Invisible Joy - Pale Blue Day - This is one of the most obscure albums I own. I believe Colin Snyder introduced me to this outfit in college. Honestly there are two just fantastic cuts here, New Orleans and She Goes On, which convinced me to go searching for the album. Both are shimmering alternative/pop numbers with rich layers of sound that I can’t get enough of. Much of the rest is more average, but along the same lines. 2.5 stars
New Order - International - This is a greatest hits album for one of the defining new wave bands. Those who knew me in college knew I was incessantly playing True Faith, which was at the time my favorite song. It’s quite a solid collection, including Bizarre Love Triangle and Ceremony. The original version of Blue Monday is here, but it’s not as good as Orgy’s hard rock remake. Touched by the Hand of God is a lot of fun, if overly precious. The best thing about this disk is, the newest songs are great! Crystal was a comeback song for them from a few years ago that I thoroughly dig. 3.5 stars
The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic - Indie Rock supergroup The New Pornographers are a whole bunch of musicians who just write catchy melodies and rock out. For all albums, Carl Newman writes about ¾ of the songs, and Dan Bejar of Destroyer writes and sings the rest. “Guest artist” Neko Case is obviously the best vocalist among them, but she mostly sings harmony, getting the lead on only a couple awesome tracks per disk. Mass Romantic is packed with memorable rockers, including the title track, The Slow Descent into Alcoholism, Jackie, and Execution Day. There is not a weak track here. My only knock is a slight sloppiness in production, but if you like Indie rock you are used to that. 4.5 stars
The New Pornographers - Electric Version - Their sophomore album cements their formula and churns out more indelible hits. Check out From Blown Speakers and All for Swinging You Around for good examples. It’s all up-tempo, and is never boring. 4 stars
The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema - This is the album I bought which made me see them live twice and collect the rest of their catalog. It’s better-produced than its predecessors, sounding like a major-label release, and is more adventurous while still being chock full of hooks. Jackie Dressed in Cobras and Falling Through Your Clothes are very odd songs, the latter a trippy dream-sequence that still churns along. Twin Cinema is raucous and catchy, and The Bones of an Idol and These are the Fables showcase Neko’s vocals and are both classics. Also check out Stacked Crooked, perhaps the most inventive song, rhythmically, that they’ve recorded. Bizarrely, it mentions cryptic crosswords. 5 stars
The New Pornographers - Challengers - This is the first real departure for the New Pornographers, as the tempo is slowed considerably, and it has a more reflective feel. The hooks are here, but they are slower, and at that tempo they can get a bit repetitive. Also, Carl Newman sings in his falsetto a little more than I might like. Challengers is another Neko Case showstopper, and Failsafe is also excellent. Dan Bejar’s Entering White Cecilia is another highlight. It’s a fun, invigorating listen, but it’s just not game-changing like their earlier stuff. Daniel swears by this album though. 3.5 stars
Next Up - N (Part 2 of 2) - Industrial, Grunge