Performer Notes

The follow-up to indie-rock collective New Pornographers' lauded ELECTRIC VERSION, 2005's TWIN CINEMA expands on that album's power-pop sound. Here the group, masterminded by singer/multi-instrumentalist A.C. Newman, has added a new member--vocalist/pianist Kathryn Calder (Newman's niece)--while both the songwriting and arrangements have become more adventurous.
The energetic title track sounds like an unlikely collaboration between Wire and Big Star, while "The Bones of an Idol" recalls mid-1970s Brian Eno. As always, alt-country star Neko Case steals the show, particularly on "These Are the Fables," an urgent, piano-based tune that spotlights her potent Patsy Cline-on-caffeine vocals. Destroyer's Dan Bejar also contributes a handful of songs, including the quirky T. Rex-meets-New Wave track "Broken Beads." The New Pornographers have enough talent and imagination to weave their various influences into their own unique sound, and the result is a buoyant, engaging collection of songs. Although some might have doubted that the band could top ELECTRIC VERSION, they may have done exactly that with the ambitious TWIN CINEMA.

Professional Reviews

Spin (p.64) - Ranked #7 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2005" - "Getting positively wistful at points, they riff on distance and mortality while Carl Newman pastiches the best '70s melodic radio tricks."

Spin (pp.93-94) - "Newman is a singing encyclopedia of power pop." - Grade: A-

Entertainment Weekly (No. 836, p.59) - "[T]his Canadian indie supergroup add 14 sublime power-pop blasts to their unerring canon of should-be smashes...." - Grade: A

Uncut (p.96) - 4 stars out of 5 - "By turns darker and more challenging than 2003's dazzling ELECTRIC VISION....[The] songs seemingly come from a more insular place this time around."

Magnet (p.52) - Ranked #2 in Magnet's "The 20 Best Albums Of 2005" - "The New Pornographers run up the score...sharing the mic and piling on Technicolor choruses..."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.89) - 3 stars out of 5 - "TWIN CINEMA rolls by like a summery blast of mid-'60s AM radio....This is perfect pop."