Editorial Review:

Album Description:
The third album from Vancouver's pop maestros continues to feature Neko Case and Dan Bejar (Destroyer), as well as new vocalists Kathryn Calder and Nora O'Connor. These songs veer more toward the rocking and the personal than the sugar of earlier works. Chief singer/songwriter A.C. Newman has absorbed not just the mechanics of classic songwriting, but the heart, while indulging his admiration of demented current bands like Fiery Furnaces and Frog Eyes. Expect to hear influences from The Moody Blues, Tubeway Army, Wings, Eno, The Stranglers, 10cc, and other greats, all filtered through Newman's warped worldview.

Amazon.com:
Imagine a loose consortium of musicians who combine the lilting melodies of the Zombies with the driving hooks of the Kinks. Sure, it's what all the kids are doing these days, but Vancouver's New Pornographers are one of the few--along with the Shins--to get the balance right. Their third full-length offers more of the same smart power-pop that made Mass Romantic and Electric Version instant classics, plus some surprising new moves. As singer/songwriter Carl Newman (The Slow Wonder) has noted, 'You can't play ebow without sounding like Eno,' and indeed, Brian Eno's sublime early recordings are evoked on this more introspective offering. There are also strong new vocalists joining Neko Case: Nora O'Connor (the Blacks) and Newman's piano-playing niece, Kathryn Calder. If there was a flaw with previous efforts, it was that the contributions of Dan Bejar (Destroyer), fine as they were, sounded somewhat out of place. Just as they're better integrated this time around, Twin Cinema offers every member of this insanely talented ensemble the chance to shine. --Kathleen C. Fennessy









Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

---

Related Items:
     see more

Related Items:

• Challengers
• Electric Version
• Mass Romantic
• Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
• The Reminder
• see more

---

Disc 1:

1. Twin Cinema
2. The Bones of an Idol
3. Use It
4. The Bleeding Heart Show
5. Jackie, Dressed in Cobras
6. The Jessica Numbers
7. These Are the Fables
8. Sing Me Spanish Techno
9. Falling Through Your Clothes
10. Broken Breads
11. Three or Four
12. Star Bodies
13. Streets of Fire
14. Stacked Crooked

Rating: - Songs You Will Remember
Short and Sweet Folks. The first 8 songs on this CD are the best run
I have heard since maybe "Who's Next". More hooks than ABBA and an old wide mouth bass......It's good.

---

Rating: - Great album
Contains some really excellent songs and certainly none of them is bad. Definitely worth listening to.

---

Rating: - Made me a fan.
This is a great album, it made me a fan. I bought it initially because I had seen it recommended by people on sites I frequently visit, none of them actually being music dedicated sites.

I approached it with an open mind, I like stuff that is more "out there" than this album. My first though was that it was a little boring and I "shelved" it (I would skip songs when they would come up randomly and so on) for maybe a moth or so. Then I gave "Bleeding Heart Show" a listen and it made me want more. I now own three of their albums.

---

Rating: - Another winner for the Pornos
The New Pornos may still be trying to live up to the promise of Mass Romantic, but even as they fall short, they still manage not to disappoint. Twin Cinema is a virtual cornucopia of different sounds, styles and voices in alt-pop all squeezed into the same record; you'd swear it was a movie soundtrack or compilation instead of a true album. They may wear their pop influences on their sleeves, but it's so charmingly fun, breezy, bouncy and melodic that you'll hardly notice.

"Use It" and the title track both explode out of the speakers with shimmering melodies and irresistible hooks (the former may well be the catchiest song they've ever written), "The Bleeding Heart Show" builds to an anthemic close, and "Sing Me Spanish Techno" starts out fuzzy and swaggering before settling in for a sweet and swinging melody. It's their most eclectic effort to date and despite some truly strong moments, there are also a few bland and forgettable ones along the way.

Start to finish, though, its overt-pleasantness can be a bit tiring after so many listens (they're far less caustic and sardonic this time around; that, or its irony is lost in the summery beats). Twin Cinema's inconsistency and overlength can strain at times, but the high points more than make up for it. The album reaches a great high early on with most of the best ones coming in the first half. Does it simply wear out its welcome or does the quality truly ebb? Difficult to say, but genre fans should snatch it up all the same, and it beats the hell out of the carbon copy power pop that gets radio play right now.

Best cuts: "Use It," "The Bleeding Heart Show," "These Are the Fables," "Twin Cinema," "Sing Me Spanish Techno," "The Bones of an Idol," "Star Bodies," "Three or Four," "Falling Through Your Clothes," "Stacked Crooked"

---

Rating: - absolutely superb
After repeated listens, and careful comparisons between the New Pornographers 3 albums of which I have listened to near continuously these last 5 weeks, I have determined that their 3rd album, Twin Cinema, is not only their best, but among the greatest rock albums ever made. Every song is a classic. From the more simple pop songs that start out the album to the eye opening and occasionally jaw-dropping string of songs making up the 2nd half, this album if flawless, song for song as well as in its execution and order. Big Star, the Raspberries, The Action, 20/20, The Zombies, The Left Banke, The Byrds, even the Beatles; This album should be placed among the peak works of these pop classicists.