TOP 100 ALBUMS EVAR: #82 The New Pornographers: Electric Version (2003) <Matador> Genre: Power Pop, Indie Rock Nationality: Canada (Vancouver, British Columbia) Although this record was released in 2003, the New Pornographers’ Electric Version has become rooted in the summer of 2005 for me.  It was an exciting time: I was right smack dab in the middle of high school, and I was really starting to get into many different types of music.  The New Pornographers were among the first indie rock bands that I got into, and they’ve since remained among some of my favorite bands.  That summer, I was introduced to the Canadian power pop collective with their current release Twin Cinema.  I remember getting it based on pure suggestion from another friend, and I remember being blown away by the sheer catchiness and quality of each song.  However, at the same time I got a hold of their previous release, Electric Version, and pretty soon, Twin Cinema was out of my car’s CD player and back into its case.  It’s not that Twin Cinema is bad or anything (in fact it’s probably my second favorite), but Electric Version has the higher concentration of awesome songs.  It’s less experimental, more straightforward, and for the most part a lot more fun.  It’s typical New Pornographers: booming drums, rocking guitars, and chanted choruses that sound like rallying cries.  Neko Case doesn’t offer as much vocals on this one (pretty much just “All For Swinging You Around” and “The Laws Have Changed”), but a lot of the attention is directed at Destroyer’s Dan Bejar.  “Chump Change” and “Testament To Youth In Verse” remain as my favorite Destroyer contributions to the New Pornographers catalog. Key Tracks: “The Laws Have Changed,” “Loose Translation,” “Testament To Youth In Verse,” “Miss Teen Wordpower” For Fans Of: The Shins, Neko Case, The Apples In Stereo

TOP 100 ALBUMS EVAR: #82

The New Pornographers: Electric Version (2003) <Matador>

Genre: Power Pop, Indie Rock

Nationality: Canada (Vancouver, British Columbia)

Although this record was released in 2003, the New Pornographers’ Electric Version has become rooted in the summer of 2005 for me.  It was an exciting time: I was right smack dab in the middle of high school, and I was really starting to get into many different types of music.  The New Pornographers were among the first indie rock bands that I got into, and they’ve since remained among some of my favorite bands.  That summer, I was introduced to the Canadian power pop collective with their current release Twin Cinema.  I remember getting it based on pure suggestion from another friend, and I remember being blown away by the sheer catchiness and quality of each song.  However, at the same time I got a hold of their previous release, Electric Version, and pretty soon, Twin Cinema was out of my car’s CD player and back into its case.  It’s not that Twin Cinema is bad or anything (in fact it’s probably my second favorite), but Electric Version has the higher concentration of awesome songs.  It’s less experimental, more straightforward, and for the most part a lot more fun.  It’s typical New Pornographers: booming drums, rocking guitars, and chanted choruses that sound like rallying cries.  Neko Case doesn’t offer as much vocals on this one (pretty much just “All For Swinging You Around” and “The Laws Have Changed”), but a lot of the attention is directed at Destroyer’s Dan Bejar.  “Chump Change” and “Testament To Youth In Verse” remain as my favorite Destroyer contributions to the New Pornographers catalog.

Key Tracks: “The Laws Have Changed,” “Loose Translation,” “Testament To Youth In Verse,” “Miss Teen Wordpower”

For Fans Of: The Shins, Neko Case, The Apples In Stereo