Over the past 20 years, The New Pornographers have proven themselves one
of the most excellent bands in indie rock. They’ve constantly offered
new sonic surprises with every album, and Continue as a Guest is their
greatest leap to date. The group’s ninth album and first for Merge
establishes them alongside modern luminaries like Yo La Tengo and
Superchunk when it comes to their ability to evolve while still
retaining what made them so special in the first place. A dazzling and
intriguing collection of songs that are built to last, Continue as a
Guest finds bandleader A.C. Newman and his compatriots Neko Case,
Kathryn Calder, John Collins, Todd Fancey, and Joe Seiders exploring
fresh territory and shattering the barriers of their collective comfort
zone.
Along with Newman’s usual cast of collaborators, several songwriters
contribute to the album in curious ways. Neko Case, who happened to be
living just a short distance from Newman during lockdown, became an
anchoring presence during most of the writing & recording sessions,
contributing in all the ways you'd want a songwriter of Case's caliber
to be involved. Standout track “Firework in the Falling Snow,” a pen
pal-esque collaboration with Sadie Dupuis (Speedy Ortiz, Sad13), hits
with an equal mix of freshness & familiarity, like seeing your favorite
painting from an angle you've never witnessed before. A noticeable sonic
change also comes courtesy of saxophonist Zach Djanikian, whose tenor
and bass tones luxuriate all over Continue as a Guest’s alluring
chassis, especially on the menacing build of “Pontius Pilate’s Home
Movies.”
Themes of isolation and collapse bleed into this album’s lyrical
framework, as Newman tackles the ambivalence of day-to-day life during
the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the endless pitfalls of living online.
But Newman says that Continue as a Guest also addresses the
continually rolling concerns that come with being in a band for so long.
“The idea of continuing as a guest felt very apropos to the
times,” he explains. “Feeling out of place in culture, in society,
being in a band that has been around for so long—not feeling like a
part of any zeitgeist, but happy to be separate and living your simple
life, your long fade-out. Living in a secluded place in an isolated
time, it felt like a positive form of acceptance: find your own little
nowhere, find some space to fall apart, continue as a guest.”
Even as Newman embraces a collaborative spirit more than ever, Continue
as a Guest is also a testament to his ability to discover new artistic
sides of himself. “I started out as a songwriter more than as a
singer, but at some point, you have to sing your own songs,” he says
with a chuckle. “For a long time, I felt like the idea of changing a
song because I couldn’t hit a note wasn’t okay—I could just get
someone else to sing it. But I’m learning now that my songs can
actually be a lot more malleable than I thought.” And it’s in that
spirit that Continue as a Guest sounds like a thrilling path forward
for The New Pornographers, with songs that generate a contagious feeling
of excitement for the future as well.
OUT 31 MARCH 2023...
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