
Merge Records
The New Pornographers - Continue as a Guest (Green & Blue Vinyl)
Regular price $34.00 Save $-34.00Product Description
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Over
the
past
20
years,
The
New
Pornographers
have
proven
themselves
one
of
the
most
excellent
bands
in
indie
rock.
The
group’s
ninth
album
and
first
for
Merge
establishes
them
alongside
modern
luminaries
like
Yo
La
Tengo
and
Superchunk
when
it
comes
to
their
ability
to
evolve
while
still
retaining
what
made
them
so
special
in
the
first
place.
A
dazzling
and
intriguing
collection
of
songs,
Continue
as
a
Guest
finds
bandleader
A.C.
Newman
and
his
compatriots
Neko
Case,
Kathryn
Calder,
John
Collins,
Todd
Fancey,
and
Joe
Seiders
exploring
fresh
territory
and
shattering
the
barriers
of
their
collective
comfort
zone.
Newman
began
work
on
Continue
as
a
Guest
after
the
band
had
finished
touring
behind
2019’s
In
the
Morse
Code
of
Brake
Lights.
Themes
of
isolation
and
collapse
bleed
into
this
album,
as
Newman
tackles
the
ambivalence
of
day-to-day
life
during
the
COVID-19
pandemic.
But
Newman
says
that
Continue
as
a
Guest’s
title
track
also
addresses
the
concerns
that
come
with
being
in
a
band
for
so
long.
“The
idea
of
continuing
as
a
guest
felt
apropos
to
the
times,”
he
explains.
“Feeling
out
of
place
in
culture,
in
society,
being
in
a
band
that
has
been
around
for
so
long—not
feeling
like
a
part
of
any
zeitgeist,
but
happy
to
be
separate
and
living
your
simple
life,
your
long
fade-out.
Living
in
a
secluded
place
in
an
isolated
time,
it
felt
like
a
positive
form
of
acceptance:
find
your
own
little
nowhere,
find
some
space
to
fall
apart,
continue
as
a
guest.”
Newman
discovered
new
vocal
approaches
within
his
own
talent.
There
are
new
and
rich
tones
to
Newman’s
voice
throughout
Continue
as
a
Guest,
from
his
dusky
lower
register
over
“Angelcover”
to
his
slippery
slide
over
the
glimmering
synths
of
“Firework
in
the
Falling
Snow,”
to
bold
tones
he
embraces
on
the
soaring
“Bottle
Episodes.”
Another
sonic
change
comes
courtesy
of
saxophonist
Zach
Djanikian,
whose
tenor
and
bass
luxuriate
all
over
Continue
as
a
Guest’s
alluring
chassis,
especially
on
the
menacing
build
of
“Pontius
Pilate’s
Home
Movies.”
Along
with
Newman’s
usual
collaborators,
several
songwriters
contribute.
The
bursting
opener
and
first
single
“Really
Really
Light”
is
a
co-write
with
Dan
Bejar
(Destroyer,
the
New
Pornographers).
Then
there’s
“Firework
in
the
Falling
Snow,”
a
collaboration
with
Sadie
Dupuis
of
Speedy
Ortiz
and
Sad13.
“I
was
feeling
like
I
wanted
some
help,
so
I
sent
it
to
Sadie
and
she
sent
me
back
this
complete
song
that
had
these
great
lyrics,”
Newman
says.
“She
included
the
line
‘A
firework
in
the
falling
snow,’
and
I
was
like,
‘Yeah,
that’s
great.’
Sometimes
you
need
that
one
thing
to
center
the
song,
and
even
though
I
only
used
a
few
lines
of
hers
in
the
end,
I
couldn’t
have
finished
it
without
her.”
Even
as
Newman
embraces
a
collaborative
spirit
more
than
ever,
Continue
as
a
Guest
is
a
testament
to
his
ability
to
discover
new
artistic
sides
of
himself.
“I
started
out
as
a
songwriter
more
than
as
a
singer,
but
at
some
point,
you
have
to
sing
your
own
songs,”
he
says
with
a
chuckle.
“For
a
long
time,
I
felt
like
the
idea
of
changing
a
song
because
I
couldn’t
hit
a
note
wasn’t
okay—I
could
just
get
someone
else
to
sing
it.
But
I’m
learning
now
that
my
songs
can
actually
be
a
lot
more
malleable
than
I
thought.”
And
it’s
in
that
spirit
that
Continue
as
a
Guest
sounds
like
a
thrilling
path
forward
for
The
New
Pornographers,
with
songs
that
generate
a
contagious
feeling
of
excitement
for
the
future
as
well.
Track
Listing:
SIDE
A
1.
Really
Really
Light
2.
Pontius
Pilate’s
Home
Movies
3.
Cat
and
Mouse
with
the
Light
4.
Last
and
Beautiful
5.
Continue
as
a
Guest
SIDE
B
6.
Bottle
Episodes
7.
Marie
and
the
Undersea
8.
Angelcover
9.
Firework
in
the
Falling
Snow
10.
Wish
Automatic
Suite
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