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The New Pornographers On World Cafe

The New Pornographers inside the <em>World Cafe</em> performance studio.
Rich McKie
/
WXPN
The New Pornographers inside the World Cafe performance studio.

The New Pornographers just released its seventh album, Whiteout Conditions -- and it's power-pop harmony heaven. This is music that moves your body and your brain, a hybrid that chief songwriter AC Newman says he envisioned from the beginning:

There were bands that I went to see that were just party bands, but you'd never really put on their records and listen to them. And then there were the bands that you listen to their records, but they're a real drag to see live. So I think the idea was like, "What if we could somehow bridge the gap?" Be sort of a party band, but also be the smart band where people listen to the records and the records are sort of dense.

The New Pornographers' records have featured a rotating cast of musical heavyweights, including Neko Case. In this session, we'll talk about life on the road after almost two decades and hear a mega-fun live performance. Listen above and check out a session performance video via VuHaus below.

Copyright 2021 XPN. To see more, visit XPN.

Talia Schlanger hosts World Cafe, which is distributed by NPR and produced by WXPN, the public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. She got her start in broadcasting at the CBC, Canada's national public broadcaster. She hosted CBC Radio 2 Weekend Mornings on radio and was the on-camera host for two seasons of the television series CBC Music: Backstage, as well as several prime-time music TV specials for CBC, including the Quietest Concert Ever: On Fundy's Ocean Floor. Schlanger also guest hosted various flagship shows on CBC Radio One, including As It Happens, Day 6 and Because News. Schlanger also won a Canadian Screen Award as a producer for CBC Music Presents: The Beetle Roadtrip Sessions, a cross-country rock 'n' roll road trip.