Album Review: New Pornographers "Challengers" (9.3/10)

By Old Man

I am happy to report that the success of the New Pornographers has probably taken more than a few late night porn stalkers to the website of one of the greatest bands living. If you believe in G_d, that is called "irony." If you don't, well, it's just funny. But if you do believe in G_d, you have got to praise the Big One for giving this band some serious talent. SERIOUS talent.

I was first aurally introduced to a band three years ago from one of my students, a girl named Katie, who swore they were the best band I had never taken the time to listen to. She let me borrow Twin Cinema , and I immediately bought it, and now is one of those albums that I listen to and still always sounds fresh. If the old maxim is true: "While you are sleeping, Ryan Adams is writing a song" (used to spur us songwriters on to be more productive in terms of numbers) the same thing could be said for the New Pornographers in terms of quality and inventiveness. While you are playing you're '69 Stratocaster through a Blues Jr. (guilty), the New Pornographers are using instruments you haven't heard of in ways you haven't thought of with creativity you wish you had.

They push the boundaries of pop rock.

Which is why Challengers is the top album in my list of "Best Albums of 2007." Seriously. It is good. The reason it doesn't get a full (10/10) is because, for me, no album can get a 10/10 when it comes out. That rating is saved for the time-tested, those with many followers like Radiohead's epic OK Computer and Springsteen's Born to Run . Challengers is not on that level. But it's close...

The lyrics range from Divorce to Love to Hate to G_d, and in ways you haven't dreamt. "We are the challengers of the unknown," Neko Case croons on her album titled orchestral masterpiece . A.C. Newman takes divorce head-on with his gorgeous bittersweet opening track "My Rights vs. Yours ,"

Remember we were the volunteers
Courts knew this and nothing more
Now it's my rights versus yours

I'll leave the rest of the Vancouver, CA band's tracks for you to enjoy and interpret. I understand why they aren't more popular - they are too good. This is a band whose esteem will grow from generation to generation. Remember the Sonics ? Of course you don't. In their time, no one knew who were they were, nonetheless they influenced countless numbers of the next generation of singer-songwriters. The New Pornographers will be the same way. In ten years, Rolling Stone will be interviewing bands who count them as huge influences, and many will wonder whey they didn't hear about them earlier. And I will be able to say I had, and "I told you so." Which is, selfishly, one of my favorite things to do.