Risk vs. Reward
(ed. Note: this is actually the first thing I wrote for the site – I’ve held off on posting it because I was considering it as a year-end entry, but we’ve shifted our year-end plans and I’ll be rolling out some potential best of 2007 material in our usual long-form)
Okay, this has to happen: let’s talk Challengers. A lot of people don’t seem to like this album at all. At least, critics don’t. The internets have been overflowing with middling to negative praise for the New Pornographers latest, but you won’t be getting that here.Challengers is a fantastic record. This band, more than any other in years, has suffered from inflated expectations due to what was an essentially flawless debut. Mass Romantic is a standard-bearer for this generation’s indie-pop/power-pop bands. It is a perfect album (and I said as much when I reviewed it back in 2001, before anyone knew who they were). But that New Pornographers is not the New Pornographers that stands before us today, performing on Letterman and offering “executive edition” box sets of its latest records.
Back then, the New Pornographers had nothing to lose. Their individual efforts (Zumpano, Destroyer, Neko Case’s existing solo work) were all critically acclaimed, but only a few people in Vancouver (and not that many outside of staffers at Mint Records) recognized that. The rest of the world had no idea who they were when they first emerged, and the spirit of collaboration that made that first record so enthralling and engaging has sort of been lost ever since. It was the only time Dan Bejar (the man that makes Destroyer) was ever assimilated into a sound; he’s been a lone wolf since then, essentially ignoring the group dynamic on the two or three songs he chooses to toss Carl Newman for each LP to go off on his own tangents. Neko Case back then was called “The Voice” for a reason: because at first her songwriting was merely okay, despite possessing a voice that makes you stop in your tracks and pay some fucking attention. At the time, she reached her zenith performing other people’s materials and the fact that she sings lead on the two best songs the band has produced (“Mass Romantic,” “Letter From An Occupant”) speaks to that.
Since then Destroyer has gotten five stars from everyone from Playboy to Chart to the New York Times and Neko Case has turned into one of alt-country’s premier songwriters, in addition to having That Voice. And all Carl newman is left with…is the New Pornographers. Hell, those other two almost never tour with the band anymore. Ninety-five per cent of the band’s fans only see the whole group when they’re performing on tv.So since Mass Romantic Newman has had to carry the bulk of the songwriting duties, trying to live up to the illustrious hooks of that first group effort. That’s why the follow-up, Electric Version, is widely considered a stumble – because A.C. was trying to figure out how to carry the load on his own. Which brings me to Challengers. What we have here is just another admirable effort, an album as equally solid as the (again) widely acclaimed Twin Cinema…but it’s also an album that makes a departure from the expected. That’s where the critics are getting it wrong – they’re too hung up on “Myriad Harbour” to give the whole work a fair shake.
Reading the reviews for this album is like listening to two wizened old men talk about how things used to be. People lament the fact that it isn’t Mass Romantic, that the sound is pared down, less cluttered, and marked by acoustic and organic instrumentation. They see it as a forced attempt to expand the playbook outside of the patterns the team is used to, calling foul on a lack of energy and a reduced tempo. All those things might be the case when put up against Mass Romantic, but again this isn’t the same band. It can’t be looked at in the same light. As a singular work, Challengers is not perfect. It could stand to lose a song or two (“Mutiny, I Promise You” treads water and “The Spirit of Giving” simply can’t follow up a track as strong as the one before it), there are less-obvious hooks, and it is a very mid- to low-tempo affair.
But like on Twin Cinema standout “the Bleeding Heart Show,” that allows for change in the dynamics of the songs, and allows the melodies to elevate to a sense of genuine beauty, not just catchiness. “Adventures In Solitude” may have a very fractured lyric, but it’s without a doubt the band’s loveliest melody yet. The whole song rides on that melody, which overpowers the senses and leaves you unable to explain why the song is so affecting. Melody also propels “My Rights Versus Yours,” which features a characteristically beautiful vocal performance. These two songs stand up against the best of the band’s catalogue, no matter which album you think is the best.
Is it a 10? No. But it’s an 8…if you take away the idea that every New Pornos album should ape Mass Romantic.
New Pornographers - Myriad Harbour [4:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download New Pornographers - My Rights Versus Yours [4:17m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download New Pornographers - Adventures In Solitude [4:16m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadTrust me; it’s worth your money.
iTunes: iTunes has plenty, including a new iTunes-only EP.
Matador Records: The big label has plenty, including a Europe-only b-side. Get on that, son.
Dude, this is perfectly on point and exactly the problem with the reviews that it has gotten. Every critic always talks about bands changing and evolving, and then when one does, they pan it. When taken out of the context of the other albums, it does stand alone as a very good one. Maybe it wasn’t what people expected, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great listen.