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     Concert Preview: The New Pornographers at Newport Music Hall

    I am blurry on this here particular scene
    More like a radio static, it’s a noise in between
    How many lives have you pulled from the air
    You’re not seeing ’em now but they’re all more or less there, yeah
    …”

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    The opening lines of “Really Really Light,” the first track and single from The New Pornographers‘ ninth studio album, Continue as a Guest, land with a cascade of bendy guitars and bubbly synths – a shot of melodic medicine that immediately induces a grin as it courses through my headphones.

    It’s the beginning of 41 minutes of shimmering pop, lovingly crafted by a band that pours itself into its songs with reckless abandon and palpable joy. Continue as a Guest is one of those records that reminds you of why the album art form exists – a veritable mosaic of neat little vocal and instrumental moments that you’ll certainly need multiple listens to discover.

    The new set arrives four years after the Pornographers’ last studio effort, 2019’s In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights. While the Canadian-rooted band has been making music as a unit in some form since 1997, Continue as a Guest features its current lineup of Carl Newman (vocals, guitar), Neko Case (vocals), Kathryn Calder (keyboards, vocals, guitar), John Collins (bass), Todd Fancey (lead guitar) and Joe Seiders (drums, vocals). Saxophonist Zach Djanikian also contributed to the album sessions, as did former NP vocalist and guitarist Dan Bejar, and songwriter Sadie Dupuis.

    The band is presently on the road for a lengthy U.S. tour, which began April 19 in Asheville, North Carolina, and continues through November 18 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

    Official music video for The New Pornographers’ single “Really Really Light” (Merge Records).

    Tomorrow night, they take the stage at Columbus’ historic Newport Music Hall, along with New York City-based rock outfit Wild Pink.

    On a tour stop in New Orleans last month, Kathryn Calder was kind enough to spend some time with me on the phone to discuss how their latest album came to fruition, and how they leverage each other and their influences when they create and perform together.

    Grant Walters: First, I have to tell you how much I genuinely love Continue as a Guest – start to finish. Congratulations to all of you for making such a phenomenal record.

    Kathryn Calder: Oh! Thank you so much.

    GW: You and the rest of the band are constantly busy working on different projects – collectively and individually. What is sort of the clarion call for you all to start working on another New Pornographers album together?

    KC: You know, I think that Carl is just working on music all the time. And so, this record was interesting for me because we were working on a lot of different things kind of at the same time. Until we got the final record, I didn’t really know what was actually going to be on it. It gets clearer as the process goes, but some songs I worked on were for something else – maybe the next thing, or to just put somewhere to save for another record.

    This record was sort of an extreme version of what we usually do, or what we have done. We sort of morphed into remote recording because everybody has, we have our own recording situations, all of us. The last few records I’ve been recording at my house and sending tracks to Carl and the band. And then he does the work of integrating my parts into the music. We had already been doing that, and then when the pandemic happened, and it was just impossible to get together because we were so spread out and it would have involved flying when there were all the travel restrictions and everything like that was going down. And it was all very scary.

    I don’t think we were really in the same room together very much at all for this record until maybe later in the pandemic when that became more possible. Everything was done separately, and the trick is to try and make it sound like we’re in the room together. That’s always the goal. Carl sends over songs, and he’ll say, “Hey, can you play something on this?” And I’ll send a track back, or a bunch of tracks back and a bunch of singing, or whatever it is. And, then that’s just how records get made. Eventually, it sort of consolidates into what is the record from all these different songs we have to choose from and refines down into the final record.

    GW: Well, kudos to all of you because it absolutely sounds live and has such cohesive energy.

    KC: Cool. That’s great to hear! Good.

    GW: Beyond the limitations of recording during a global health crisis, was there anything else that challenged you and the band while assembling this record, specifically?

    KC: I don’t know if there was…I mean, I guess I was pregnant at the time we were recording this. But that doesn’t count [laughs]. No, I think, honestly, we just kind of do our thing, whatever it is at that time and just try to write the parts that come. I mean, that’s how I do it. That’s how I always approach it. So, I’m sure that there’s something I was interested in at the time in that made its way on the record. But I don’t know – that’s a tricky question.

    GW: I know Continue as a Guest contends with themes of isolation and the implications of living in a digital world. Do you find it challenging as musicians to exist and create within an industry that is now so focused on social media and online engagement and driven by metrics like streaming and downloads?

    KC: Oh, that’s interesting. I mean, probably – yeah. We’ve seen a lot of different eras at this point and we’re so lucky because we have folks that help us out with that side of it, so, we aren’t kind of having to do all that stuff on our own. That’s what I think is what makes it really challenging for artists. If you’re coming up in that world, and you’re used to it and you’re interested in it and it’s fun for you, you know, that’s one thing. Personally, I find that that’s a whole side that I have to adjust to a little bit, because I didn’t grow up with social media.

    But I think fundamentally, if you have fans of your band, then all that stuff happens on its own anyway, like streams and stuff. And those don’t always mean anything – it’s really hard to know what those metrics mean, actually. I run a small record label at home, so it’s interesting to me to look into that and go, “Okay, well, yeah – these folks have a lot of streams,” but it doesn’t always necessarily translate into people buying tickets to your show.

    And then sometimes you have bands that people buy a lot of tickets to their shows, but their streams don’t reflect that. So, it’s not always accurate to what’s going on – or at least there are different ways you can exist in the music industry. Like, I think now it’s like more possible to be a band that doesn’t tour if you have people who are interested in you in this streaming kind of way. I think that it’s all kind of an interesting new twist.

    But, we just do our thing and do the best we can and try to be engaged online, because that’s where people are and they love it, too. And we love connecting with people that way. We’re definitely from a different era, but Neko has her Substack, for example. So, I think there are ways we can just find the thing we enjoy doing and use that as a platform, because if you’re trying to do it all, it’s impossible.

    The New Pornographers: top, left to right: Todd Fancey, Joe Seiders, Kathryn Calder; bottom, left to right: Neko Case, Carl Newman, John Collins (photo credit: Ebru Yildiz).

    GW: Right. I think it’s all really complex, so figuring those strengths out is really important. In that vein, I wanted to know about all of you touring together, which you’ve done so consistently for years. What elements of your show have become just instinctive now from a performance perspective?

    KC: Hmm. I think I have to think about that for a second. I haven’t been asked that one – it’s a good question. Well, I think history comes into it quite a bit. We know each other really well. So that always helps when you’re learning new material or something. When we’re on stage it’s not always perfect, but having that history, I can look over and I can tell when something’s going wrong. Not only can I hear it, but I can see it. And, it might not necessarily be obvious in the crowd, but because you know people so well you know their like micro facial expressions. I can usually tell even little, like if somebody’s like not sure about where they’re coming in. Especially with new material, it’s one thing to know the record and then another thing to play it for the first time without the record playing in the background – which is how you learn songs.

    Sometimes, we’ve had major miscommunications on stage where it’s like, “What is happening?!” You’re trying to get back on track and you’re trying to mime and talk silently over this rock music, which is always also really funny when that happens. Thankfully people generally seem to enjoy when the band is sort of a little bit off the rails – and so do we. I think we do that well.

    We’re slowly getting better at recreating the records a little more like they were written, and that’s been a fun and cool challenge. There’s a lot of technology involved in sampling and taking elements directly from the record, or trying to kind of come up with something that’s approximate – you know, that kind of nerdy, deep band stuff that you get into when you’re recording and performing. There are lots of different ways to do it, and you don’t always have to play the songs just like the record. But trying to get as close as we can is fun.

    GW: Continuing on that path, what song on this record has been the most interesting or fun to recreate for live performance?

    KC: I always love the new songs and putting them into the new set. Actually, I think all the ones we’ve been adding are super fun to play right now. And I mean that genuinely – I’m stoked. One of the ones I had a feeling was going to be really was “Pontius Pilate’s Home Movies”…

    GW: That’s my absolute favorite one off the record. I love it so much.

    KC: Oh, that’s great! And I get to play this high-strung Nashville tuning – I’m making my guitar debut on that song. I don’t usually play guitar; I usually play keyboards. And so that one’s been fun just because it has such a groove. The song “Continue as a Guest” I felt sounded really cool and moody, too.

    On this tour we also have Adam Schatz who plays in Japanese Breakfast on saxophone. He’s been adding a lot of really amazing things to our vibe, so that’s been awesome.

    Official audio for The New Pornographers’ single “Pontius Pilate’s Home Movies” (Merge Records).

    GW: Yeah, there’s absolutely been an absence of good sax in music recently. I’ve been missing that a lot as an ’80s kid because, I mean, it was everywhere

    KC: Right? So, yeah, I’m appreciative of anybody who can come on stage add that to add that to the mix.

    GW: Speaking of your contributions in particular, you’ve spoken at length about the impact Joni Mitchell has had on you. Are there other influences you’ve noticed surfacing in your work with the band, or in your own material?

    KC: Another huge influence that evolved for me when I was a teenager was David Bowie – particularly a record like Hunky Dory. I didn’t realize it as a kid – I thought he was artistic and unusual-looking, but he was also extremely melodic and sounded so interesting. It was unlike any of the music I had been listening to. I grew up on a mix of things – a lot of pop music. We listened to a lot of pop radio growing up. My parents were classical musicians, so we listened to classical music. And maybe some Billy Joel, maybe some Elvis, and maybe Queen records. Their Greatest Hits album was something I loved. But, then I kind of discovered artists like Bowie later and thought, “Oh, I never thought by looking at this that I would love it. But I love it.” Or The Velvet Underground. I had to discover all of this myself or through my friends. Or My Bloody Valentine. When I heard Loveless, I thought their name didn’t sound at all like how beautiful, incredible and melodic their music was.

    I discovered this whole world of music that was melodic, but also had crazy weird sounds that were a little messed up. It was a bit off kilter in a very cool way. And once I did, I thought, “Oh, well, that’s where I want to be.” These absolutely beautiful melodies that just travel to these crazy places that you might not otherwise – that are not straightforward. Those are the kinds of things that always appeal to me as a through-line once I found it. Even if I wouldn’t have been able to name it at the time. So, when we’re making records, those are the influences I have in the back in my mind and that I draw from. Which I feel is broad – enough that it can work for a lot of different situations.

    GW: From the wide swath of artists you and the band love – if you could travel back in time and observe any recording or writing session in music history, for what one would you most want to be a fly on the wall?

    KC: Shoot. Well, prob-…I don’t know. I wanna say some obvious ones, but I think…let me think for a second.

    GW: Yeah, sorry. It’s a pretty left-field question to ask.

    KC: No! I love it. I love it. Okay. So, I think probably everybody would love to be in these because they’re such a huge influence, but maybe like The Beatles or The Beach Boys – those early recording sessions. I would love to be a fly on the wall for any of David Bowie’s or any Joni Mitchell’s sessions just because they would be so fascinating. Something like Court and Spark – I think everyone in the band could agree on that one. I would love to have just been there to see how it all came together because it’s such an amazingly-produced record Joni made there. Those would be some low-hanging fruit, for sure. But, yeah, I’d love to see The Beach Boys – watching Brian Wilson would be so cool. Oh, and Marvin Gaye, too. Amazing. That would be wild.

    GW: I’m perpetually curious about this, so please forgive me that I’m recycling a question I’ve asked other artists before. But what would you say your values are as a band? What are the things you’ve concretely agreed up on that must always be intact in order for The New Pornographers play and create together?

    KC: The thing that comes to mind when when you say that is I know that I know Carl in particular with his songwriting just works really hard to make sure the song is the best that it can be. There’s a lot of thought that goes into making our records. He’s always striving for writing the best song ever. That’s something I always try to do, too, if I know I’m going to add something to a song. We take a lot of pride in our creative work collectively and as a group. I don’t feel we compromise on that because that’s our great love is music and making it. I hope that comes through. There’s a lot of amazing music out there, so we can’t rest on letting something not be awesome.

    The New Pornographers bring their “Continue as a Guest” tour to Newport Music Hall, 1272 N. High St., on Tuesday, May 9, with special guests Wild Pink. Doors open at 7 p.m.; show is all ages. Advance tickets are $28, plus applicable taxes and fees ($32 plus taxes and fees at the door), available via AXS. Attendees should check the venue website for policies and other important information.

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    Grant Walters
    Grant Waltershttps://columbusunderground.com
    Grant is a freelance writer for Columbus Underground who primarily focuses on music and comedy. He's a Canadian transplant, born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and schooled in Vancouver, British Columbia. Grant is also the co-author of two internationally acclaimed books: "Decades: The Bee Gees in the 1960s" and "Decades: The Bee Gees in the 1970s." He has also penned numerous articles and artist interviews for the nationally recognized site, Albumism.
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