Two years after their last album, the New Pornographers are back and bigger than ever with Twin Cinema.
Formed in 1997, the Vancouver band has regaled the world with its giddy pop albums Mass Romantic and The Electric Version. After adding extra vocalists and a pianist, the band is nine strong for its latest effort.
While the band has always included offbeat instruments like the melodion, ebow and xylophone, its third album is evidently inspired by the musical evolution of the New Pornographers' constituents. A.C. Newman, Neko Case, Todd Fancey and Daniel Bejar all released solo efforts in the near past which expanded their interests.
Newman's The Slow Wonder was singular in its faithfulness to the style of The New Pornographers. Case, Fancey and Bejar all stretched a little further in their exploration of musical genre and production. In particular, Bejar's most recent release under the Destroyer moniker experiments with a less flirtatious, more soulful musical style. Combined, these forays help shape Cinema's 14 tracks, each of which has a distinctly different sound than the band's earlier efforts.
On first listen, the vocals by Case and Newman so closely mimic the style of The Electric Version that little difference is apparent. Upon further review, however, a certain quality seems to be lacking. To quote the band's Web site, "The songs on Twin Cinema veer away from sugar and kitsch toward something a bit more personal." This translates to an album with a less-frenzied energy, fewer organ and synthesizer bits and a lack of dynamicism -- in other words, an artistically ambitious but unremarkable effort.
Certainly, this album has a more mainstream pop feel to it, noticeably more crowded with drums and incorporating fewer unexpected twists in melody. Tracks like "These are the Fables" move at a slower pace and highlight Case's vocals with a quiet grandeur.
"Use It" comes as close to previous the New Pornographers' songs as any track on the album, with familiar Case-Newman vocal interplay. That said, the band's growth and musically -- not lyrically -- explorative styles cannot be condemned.
While not as catchy as past releases, The New Pornographers' Twin Cinema is an enjoyable listen; a creative, but stifled, example of layered, skilled musicianship.
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