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Tonight’s show with the New Pornographers (including Neko Case) and Emma Pollock at Metro has to rate as the finest pop bill of the season—I hope you have tickets already, because the show is sold out. But even if don’t, both acts have terrific new albums that should be much easier to come by. Challengers (Matador), the latest from the New Pornographers, does an excellent job at balancing the melodic froth of the band’s early work with the more elaborate arrangements and less direct tunefulness that’s marked their last couple albums. Nominal leader Carl Newman, who wrote all but the three songs penned by Dan Bejar, has grown more ambitious over time, which often means he obscures his hook mastery with lovely layers of guitar, vocals, and keyboards that with repeated listens end up brilliantly complementing the melodies. But the songs here grabbed me immediately.
Today’s playlist:
