AC Newman has been making good pop music for quite some time. From his early years in Zumpano and Superconductor to his role in heading up the pop juggernaut of The New Pornographers the musical mind of the red-headed former Vancouverite has churned out charming melody after charmin melody.

However it has been his solo work that has captured my attention above all. In my imagination it is Newman creating pop music free of any constraints…Think of it, The New Pornographers are in the studio: ‘What is Neko going to play on this track?’, and ‘What about Bejar…Dan could probably put a smokin guitar line over that bit Carl,’ and so Mr. Newman must accommodate a role for each supermember of his supergroup.

Admittedly his solo doesn’t tread very far from the stylings of The New Pornographers, and yet I think there is a distinct feel, perhaps more focused tracks with less instruments, more subdued percussion…it is a Newman who does not need to create songs that 7 of people need to play on…

Newmans latest album, Get Guilty, set for release in January 2009 doesn’t stray far from New Pornographers territory, or even his own previous solo record, The Slow Wonder. A wee dissapointed at the status quo, however for Newman, the status quo still equals wonderfully singable melodies and top-notch musicianship.

Check out the first single from the album: ‘There are maybe ten or twelve.’

I really do love this guy.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 at 2:38 pm and is filed under Central Blog News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.