How many other artists have as consistently a good pop catalog as Carl Newman? Choose a random song he wrote off any of the albums by Zumpano, the New Pornographers, or solo and it’s likely a great song. Compiling a single disc “best of” is going to be difficult — it might have to be a box set. Get Guilty is no exception. It’s another solid collection of pop gems.
I’m not sure how Newman decides which albums should be New Pornographer songs and which he should do solo, but it seems that if he switched off lead and added a couple more group choruses he could hand most of these over to Neko Case and company with great results. And with female backing vocals sprinkled throughout Get Guilty, like on “Prophets” and “Like a Hitman, Like a Dancer”, the distinction is less apparent. On a couple songs, he does seem to incorporate a little more experimentation and discordant sounds, such as on “Submarines of Stockholm”.
Ultimately, Newman is playing around with the sounds, textures, and hooks he’s been integrating into his songs since Zumpano. Certain choruses, drum beats, and keyboard riffs sound familiar, but the bits of sound are definitely incorporated in different ways. While the songs are undoubtedly new, it seems he could expand his palette just a little more. At the same time, as long as he keeps writing songs this good, I really can’t complain. “There Are Maybe Ten or Twelve”, “The Palace at 4 AM” and “The Changeling (Get Guilty)” will definitely see heavy rotation on my stereo.
Get Guilty will be available on January 20th via Matador Records.
A.C. Newman: website | myspace
