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Mass Romantic ( 2000 )8 Mass Romantic / The Fake Headlines / The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism / Mystery Hours / Jackie / Letter from an Occupant / To Wild Homes / The Body Says No / Execution Day / Centre for Holy Wars / The Mary Martin Show / Breakin’ the Law An album that I discovered about three years too late, The New Pornographers’ Mass Romantic is one of the most unashamedly fun albums I have recently heard. Boasting members from several ‘seminal’ Canadian bands (Limblifter, Destroyer, Zumpano, anyone?), and – on a handful of tracks – irressistible alt country-chanteuse Neko Case, the quintet churns out an unholy and infectious brand of hook-heavy power pop that situates itself somewhere between The Cars (the hooks), The Beach Boys (the harmonies and sunshine), and the bouncier Britpop bands of the previous decade (glam-kitsch). Like Weezer, they employ sugary melodies and a ridiculously slick production (although the Pornographers’ production is much more detailed and layered with loads of weird keyboards and vocal harmonies), but whereas Weezer’s sound often drags a bit under the weight of the samey grunge guitars, these guys keep things deliberately light-weight and bouncy from start till finish. The start, “Mass Romantic,” immediately sets the tone, and it’s definitely one of the most thrilling songs I had heard in a long while (I guess I played it a dozen times before it got to the next song). It has a great melody, infectious musicianship, an unstoppable, 100%-adrenaline drive, and, above all, it benefits from a great performance by Case, who comes up with a performance that’s both charmingly girlish and sexy as ……….. (choose any name or body part). |
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| The other song with lead vocals by Case, “Letter from an Occupant” is – if possible – even better, a new wave-ish pop gem, with slightly jerky riffs, an ecstatic chorus and hilariously over-the-top falsetto backing vocals. Elsewhere, the band somehow refers to the quirky circus-pop of Split Enz (“The Mary Martin Show”), the neo-glam-rock of Supergrass (“The Slow Descent into Alcoholism”), and the angular wave of the (early) dB’s and Devo (“Mystery Hours,” “Execution Day”). The fact that it reminds of so many other bands isn’t meant as critique here, as the band really delivers a very coherent and utterly homogenous whole, that isn’t afraid to reveal its debts to pop history. In fact, it’s really exciting to hear the band toying around with acoustic verses that make way for grand glam chords (“The Fake Headlines”), piano-based pop that reminds of Robyn Hitchcock’s better moments (“Jackie,” “To Wild Homes”). In a way, the band also reminds me of the meticulously produced albums by a few Elephant 6 bands (The Apples in Stereo, Beulah), but it’s not as heavily reliable on The Beach Boys and The Zombies, and prefers a more edgy late 70’s-early 80’s sound, but without sounding fake. Right at this time (March 2003), the band’s also supposed to release its sophomore effort, and that will be the one to look out for, because there only seems to be one thing that ‘bothers’ me about the album, and I’m curious how that evolves: the album sounds great, and the song-writing is top-notch, but somehow it seems to lack a certain … uh … emotional direction, as on the one hand it’s not weird enough to be just a post-modern inspired genre exercise, and on the other hand too playful and arbitrary to be an album that has a sense of purpose. I don’t know if this makes any sense, but the entire album seems a bit infested with a “we-artsy-musicians-can-do-pop-as-well”-atmosphere, that makes it lose some of its appeal (just a tiny bit). But, like I suggested, I could be wrong about that, and the bottom line is that Mass Romantic (the album and the brilliant title track) will guarantee you hours of listening and singing pleasure. Can’t apply that statement to that many current albums, can you? (if convinced otherwise, send examples to emoebeffer@hotmail.com) |
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Read album reviews of similar or related artists: Weezer - Jonny Polonsky |
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