THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS

For this pure pop collective, the more’s the merrier–marching band included

The New Pornographers’ A.C. Newman has a confession to make. “Some people might think a song like ‘Daydream Believer’ by the Monkees is cheesy,” he says. “But every time I hear the song, I think it’s so beautiful it makes me want to cry.”

Fans of the Newman-led collective, which just released its fifth studio album, Together, know the feeling. As one of today’s most innovative purveyors of pure pop music, the New Pornographers delivers the same transcendent feeling to its faithful listeners. “The music I loved when I was a kid was joyful,” Newman explains. “Part of me always wants to write a song that sounds like ‘Crocodile Rock’ or ‘Beach Baby.’”

The New Pornographers’ ace in the hole is its roster of lead vocalists: Newman, Dan Bejar, Kathryn Calder and Neko Case. On the new set, the core band is joined by The Dap-Kings’ horn section and a slew of other musicians. Newman says that during recording he doesn’t worry about how to replicate the full sound on stage. “But at the end of it, we listen back and go, ‘Oh no, it’s going to take 12 people to play this!’” he acknowledges with a chuckle. “‘Why did we put a marching band on this song?’”

The group is on tour throughout the summer, augmented by several additional musicians. The nature of the Pornographers’ constantly shifting lineup—several of the members have thriving solo careers, including Newman—should give fans an added incentive to see them right now. “I’m always thinking, ‘Is this the last tour we’ll ever do with Dan and Neko?’” Newman says. “I remember at the last show of our tour in 2005, I felt wistful because I thought it was the last time this line-up was ever going to play together. There’s always that quality there, which makes it exciting.”

While Newman admits that he’d love to “sell a few million records,” he says the New Pornographers has already succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. “When I think back to starting to play music and being in a band, I was never thinking, ‘I want to be like U2 or the Police,’” he says. “I wanted to be as big as Built to Spill or Yo La Tengo or Guided by Voices. And now we’ve gotten to the point where we’re there. We’re big as the bands we grew up loving! I feel like I have to always remember and be thankful for that.”

–Melinda Newman

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