"Brill Bruisers" album review

Ever since their 1999 album "Mass Romantic," the New Pornographers have crafted lovely tunes with lyrics that break listeners' hearts. Led by singer-songwriter A.C. Newman, the eight-person group includes vocalists Neko Case and Kathryn Calder, as well as synthesizer player Blaine Thurier, who also directs indie movies. Across six albums, their songs are reminiscent of the 1960’s "Wall of Sound" musical production, with instruments and voices so densely layered that it’s impossible to distinguish what causes the emotional impact. Their music overwhelms, while their lyrics take their power from story-like details and haunting turns of phrase. My favorite, from their fourth album, 2007’s "Challengers," is the devastating final plea “Stay with me, go places."

Their songs, populated by named characters, remind me of novels; they’re less about being swept away by a chorus than building towards a devastating, unsettling realization. Each song surrounds the listener with variety and excitement, yet reminds them that nothing can alter their profound sense of loss.

"Brill Bruisers," released last week, is a New Pornographers record that, supposedly, you can dance to. NP frontman AC Newman calls it a celebration album that encapsulates a time when, finally, life became less complicated for the members of the band. The album does have an immediately tangible energy. Its songs, especially early releases "War on the East Coast" and "Brill Bruisers," are more anthemic than delicate. They urge listeners to sing along rather than just listening to Neko Case's delicate vocals.

In this way, the album continues the precedent set by 2010’s wildly energetic, if slightly formulaic song "Your Hands (Together)": a positive, childlike sentiment expressed in big booms of sound. With the hand claps, harmonies, and synthesizers of "Brill Bruisers," no one will pigeonhole this record into a playlist called “Songs for Rainy Days,” a constant danger for the New Pornographers. Yet as much as "Brill Buisers" takes the New Pornographers into bigger sounds and more roaring messages, there’s still room for the simple, melancholy details: broken hearts, twisted lyrics, and an array of characters that occupy the New Pornographer’s shining, bittersweet reality.