The New Pornographers

有那么一類樂隊，我們經(jīng)常稱之為Supergroup，翻譯過來可以叫精英團(tuán)體。這說的就是樂隊每個成員過去都在各自的領(lǐng)域中取得過非同一般的成績，現(xiàn)在聚到一起，組建的另外一個樂隊。 來自加拿大溫哥華的the New Pornographers就是這么一支Supergroup，成員包括Thee Evaporators的John Collins、Destroyer的Dan Bejar、獨立制片人Blaine Thurier和一直在鄉(xiāng)村搖滾領(lǐng)域里混事兒的女主唱Neko Case（其第三張專輯《Blacklisted》是在the Bad Seed幫助下完成的），還有樂隊的主腦以及發(fā)起人AC Newman。 這個叫AC Newman的人和其它成員一樣，都有自己的一攤子事兒。1996年，他同自己的另外一支樂隊Zumpano完成了專輯《Goin’ Through Changes》的錄制和宣傳工作之后，閑的沒事兒干，就找來這些人組建了the New Pornographers。當(dāng)時還沒人用“Supergroup”這個詞形容他們，直到樂隊首張專輯《Mass Romantic》發(fā)表之后的一次演出中，與英國60年代的著名樂隊the Kinks的主唱Ray Davies一同登臺，唱了一首他們當(dāng)年的經(jīng)典之作Starstruck之后，才被最有話語權(quán)的美國媒體所重視。 《Twin Cinema》是他們的第三張專輯，和略帶New Skool Punk氣質(zhì)的前兩張專輯相比，這張專輯更貼近60年末或者70年代初的迷幻色彩，靈魂人物AC Newman將專輯中最主要的吉他和Organ風(fēng)琴部分編寫得比以往更加復(fù)雜。對于這種復(fù)雜的編曲，就算是再細(xì)致，也難免會有突兀的轉(zhuǎn)折，不過在鼓手Kurt Dahle的幫助下，用快節(jié)奏的鼓擊將這些突兀成功的掩蓋。所以聽起來在旋律上并沒有失去一如既往的流暢。 很多樂隊在完成一張優(yōu)秀的專輯之后，經(jīng)常會把以前成功的和弦走向以及演奏方式拿到新專輯的創(chuàng)作當(dāng)中，為的是把那些曾經(jīng)的優(yōu)秀繼續(xù)發(fā)揚光大，成就新的唱片，讓歌迷在這種耳熟能詳?shù)母杏X當(dāng)中產(chǎn)生錯覺。但the New Pornographers沒有采用這種較為保險的方式，而是拿來許多新的元素放在這張專輯里（以及2004年Newman的個人唱片the Slow Wonder當(dāng)中），所以這張唱片聽上去更像the Zombies或者是Bee Gees早期作品Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You的絢麗和舒適。 另外，Newman還找來他的侄女Kathryn Calder與主唱Neko Case共同參與演唱。專輯中最值得推薦的是Neko Case寫就的民謠作品These Are the Fables，以及描寫夫妻之間生活平淡，急需一點兒新的話題為之改變的Sing Me Spanish Techno。尤其是后者，恐怕是the New Pornographers歷年來最出色的一首作品了，縱使他們發(fā)表下一張唱片時，恐怕也寫不出這么好的歌，因為它已經(jīng)達(dá)到了一個極致。
by Heather Phares & MacKenzie Wilson
The Vancouver indie rock supergroup the New Pornographers features the talents of Zumpanos Carl Newman, the Evaporators John Collins, Destroyers Dan Bejar, cartoonist/filmmaker Blaine Thurier, drummer Fisher Rose, and guest vocalist Neko Case. Newman began the band in 1996 as a lark after releasing Zumpanos Goin Through Changes; one by one, the other members joined the fold, and the New Pornographers first official rehearsal took place in 1997. By the following year, the group had completed four songs, but then Case left Vancouver for Chicago, Thurier began work on his film Low Self Esteem Girl, and the other members attended to their other bands and projects. Rose left in 1999, and Limblifter/Age of Electric drummer Kurt Dahle and guitarist Todd Fancey joined the Canadian supergroup. With a solid lineup in tow, the New Pornographers reunited and began recording again in early 2000, completing their debut album, Mass Romantic, in time for a fall release and critical acclaim. Ray Davies joined the band at SXSW in fall 2001, performing the Kinks classic Starstruck for the first time ever. After a brief North American tour, each member returned to their respective projects by 2002. Bejar recorded with Destroyer, and Case headed out on the road with Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds in support of her second solo album, Blacklisted. Nobody strayed too far, however, for the New Pornographers headed back into the studio before the years end to work on a follow-up to Mass Romantic. The pop-powered Electric Version, which appeared in spring 2003, marked their first for Matador. Twin Cinema followed in 2005 and garnered a good deal of critical praise, receiving near-perfect rankings from such influential outlets as Rolling Stone and Pitchfork. Bolstered by such a positive reception — as well as the success of Neko Cases Fox Confessor Brings the Flood in 2006 — the group went in a mellower direction with 2007s Challengers.