Via debut album Mass Romantic, the inception of The New Pornographers was sparked by a desire for new wave to modernise and diversify. Somewhere, amid the revolving door art collective setup of the band in which Dan Bejar’s membership may or may not have been revoked, there was a loss of sight.
The Former Site Of is a fairly settled, ‘stuck in its ways’ guitar-synth record. At its best, New Porn’s tenth album is artsy enough to evoke honest feelings of our final, tear-soaked communications before modern existence detaches all – the worst part is, we know we’re having them. At its worst, it is too unexpansive, and quite content to let studio professionalism do much of its musical talking.
Applied with a thinness, one mealy timbre after another implies a lack of excitement for music production. An emotionless, ‘just right’ calibre of texture lives in watery synths, guitars that need not exist, and minimal application of vaster sounds.
A sense of ritualism is attempted on Great Princess Story, broken up by super professional-sounding, vibeless studio work. Wish You Could See Me I’m Killing It is really good if you like fretless bass that much – by far the most interesting thing about it, the most out-there or powerful the instrumentation gets.
There is a genuine instrumental blowout, as the album’s finale, its title track, grows and grows and morphs and morphs until its guitars and cymbal crashes sound like giants. It is a textbook, but much-needed, crescendo that will have you believe you just listened to something bigger.
Some sickly, close vocals are left over from Dan Bejar’s influence, mainly those of A.C. Newman – Neko Case is safe. Those of Calligraphy are particularly close, but the song includes some of the best lyrics the album has to offer – “God knows it’s Armageddon somewhere”.
And remember what I said about our final, tear-soaked communications being evoked? Well, the album’s best moments are those where its instruments not only come alive, but do so to capture said evocation. Delectable, journeying synths take the lead on Pure Sticker Shock whilst Newman and Case’s shared leads suggest the final shreds of togetherness and assurance, before Ballad of the Last Payphone maintains the tone; a drifting, but subtly ascending, meditation.
This is “The Former Site of the New Pornographers”. Change is inevitable, especially for a band almost three decades into its lifespan, and change is a source of pride for The Former Site Of. But change manifests as a regression in power, diversity, and alternativeness where New Pornographers’ current offerings are concerned.
Best track – Pure Sticker Shock.
Rating – 5 out of 10
