The New Pornographers — Challengers

Ahhh, the warm, breezy, soft indie pop of The New Pornographers. Wait, hold on a second. That bag is reserved for Stars and The Hidden Cameras. The Pornos are known for their sugary sweet melodies and power pop punch. But Challengers seems to suggest the supergroup who started the trend are tired of doing the same old thing. The problem is that I'm not so sure the alternative is a step in the right direction. For one, Carl Newman seems to have an almost palatable contempt for Neko Case, the notch in the Pornos belt that would have made them superstars if she had abandoned her own solo fame for the band. When she isn't taking an all-too-rare lead, her vocals are often buried next to Kathryn Calder's. And I'm sorry, but you just don't bury Case. Dan Bejar drops in from whatever galaxy he's hanging around these days to provide the record's best tracks, as usual. But it's just not enough to save Challengers from feeling like the group's Trompe Le Monde, a good record with a bit too much tension and tightness. I feel a career's worth of A.C. Newman records on the horizon.

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