Matador Records’ The New Pornographers are basically an indie supergroup, wtih members like A.C. Newman, whose solo albums make any NP album pale in comparison; Kathryn “Immaculate Machine” Calder; the sultry siren Neko Case; John “The Evaporators” Collins; and, of course, Dan “Destroyer” Bejar, among other members.  And on this record, they’re joined by folks like Zach Condon, Will Sheff, and The Dap-Kings.  I’ve never been a tremendous fan of this band’s albums, but each release has two to five singles that are always among the year’s best.  And this latest release, Together, is no exception.  I’m digging about half the album, which is pretty darn good when you consider that most albums have about one or two songs you’ll want to listen to a year from now.  But you really wanna see them live.  They kick ass.

From the new one:

“Your Hands (Together)” (direct dl)

And enjoy these rarities:

There She Goes (The La’s cover)

Dreams (Fleetwood Mac cover)

TOUR DATES

Thursday, 5/06 – Woodstock NY, Bearsville Theate
Mon, 5/31 – George WA – Sasquatch Music Festival
Mon, 6/7 – Calgary AB – MacEwan Hall*
Tue, 6/8 – Edmonton AB – Edmonton Event Centre*
Wed, 6/9 – Saskatoon SK – The Odeon Events Centre*
Thu, 6/10 – Winnipeg MB – The Garrick Centre*
Fri, 6/11 – Minneapolis MN – First Avenue
Sat, 6/12 – Milwaukee WI – Pabst Theater^#
Sun, 6/13 – Columbus OH – Newport Music Hall^#
Tue, 6/15 – Toronto ON – The Sound Academy^#
Thu, 6/17 – Montreal QC – Le National^#
Fri, 6/18 – Boston MA – House of Blues^#
Sat, 6/19 – New York NY – Terminal 5^#
Mon, 6/21 – Philadelphia PA – Trocadero Theatre^#
Tue, 6/22 – Washington DC – 9:30 Club^#
Wed, 6/23 – Washington DC – 9:30 Club^#
Fri, 6/25 – Chapel Hill NC – Memorial Hall at UNC^#
Sat, 6/26 – Atlanta GA – Variety Playhouse^#
Sun, 6/27 – Nashville TN – Cannery Ballroom^#
Sun, 6/28 – St Louis MO – The Pagaent^
Thu, 7/15 – Vancouver BC – The Vogue Theatre^”
Fri, 7/16 – Portland OR – Crystal Ballroom^”
Sun, 7/18 – Oakland CA – Fox Theater^”
Mon, 7/19 – Los Angeles CA – The Music Box^”
Tue, 7/20 – Los Angeles CA – The Music Box^”
Wed, 7/21 – Tucson AZ – Rialto Theatre^”
Fri, 7/23 – Austin TX – Stubb’s BBQ^”
Sat, 7/24 – Dallas TX – The Showroom at Palladium^”
Sun, 7/25 – Tulsa OK – Cain’s Ballroom^”
Mon, 7/26 – Lawrence KS – Liberty Hall^”
Wed, 7/28 – Denver CO – Ogden Theatre^”
Fri, 7/30 – Boise ID – Egyptian Theatre^”
Wed, 8/4 – Madison WI – Orpheum Theatre^

with support from :
* = The Mountain Goats
^ = The Dodos
# = The Dutchess & The Duke
” = Imaad Wasif

Funny?  Or disturbing?