Challengers: The New Pornographers' Slow Descent into Balladeerism

What I have come to expect from the New Pornographers, the group of fine Canadians that brought us the gems Mass Romantic and Twin Cinema (as well as the lesser but still excellent Electric Version), is pure power pop ecstasy, with just a tinge of darkness in the form of the few tracks contributed to each album by Destroyer's Dan Bejar. The songs are filled with endorphin-blooming hooks upon hooks transmitted through electric vocal harmonies.

The latest New Pornographer's album, Challengers, flips this tried and true formula on its head. Power pop has been replaced with something else...power folk? And maybe "power" is the wrong modifier here. On Twin Cinema, the percussion (thanks to Rob Mitchum at Pitchfork for helping me realize this) makes even the slowest starting songs pregnant with anticipation of an inevitable pop explosion (take a listen at "The Bleeding Heart Show" and "Stacked Crooked"). Here, the songs don't really build as much as plod along. Only two songs, "Mutiny I Promise You" and "All The Things That Go To Make Heaven And Earth" come close to the energy of their previous albums, and even then the tempo seems feels artificially restrained. There is nothing raw here, and with the exception of Myriad Harbor, Dan Bejar's coy yet poignant tribute to New York, there's nothing that's all that much fun.

It's not entirely a failed experiment. What the slower songs lack in urgency, they make up for in lyrical honesty. "Go Places," featuring Neko Case, is heartbreakingly beautiful, as are the title track, "Challengers" and "Adventures in Solitude." "Unguided," a sprawling 6-minute anthem features some of A.C. Newman's strongest vocal work to date and is only marred by a bizarre bridge at the end, which Kathryn Calder even sounds befuddled by as she sings it. Kathryn Calder also takes the vocal lead on one track ("Failsafe"), and while I don't think that the song was the best vehicle for her talents, it's not nearly bad as most reviews of this record would lead you to believe.

Dan Bejar pretty much steals the record with two of his three tracks. Myriad Harbor competes with Broken Breads, Jackie and Jackie, Dressed in Cobras, as Dan Bejar's best New Pornographers song, and The Spirit of Giving, the album's closing track, is nearly as good. (Note: neither of these songs comes close to his solo work. If you have not listened to Destroyer's Rubies, do so immediately).

If you had doubts, the New Pornographers have proven that they can do slow and beautiful. But if you, like me, are addicted to the manic pop arrangements of the previous albums, it is a disappointment.