Together (The New Pornographers album)
| Together | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 4, 2010 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, power pop | |||
| Length | 44:27 | |||
| Label | Last Gang (Canada) Matador (U.S.) | |||
| Producer | The New Pornographers, Phil Palazzolo | |||
| The New Pornographers chronology | ||||
| ||||
Together is the fifth studio album by Canadian indie rock band the New Pornographers. It was released on May 4, 2010[1] and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard 200.
The album was recorded in seven studios in British Columbia and New York City[2] and features guest appearances by Zach Condon of Beirut, Annie Clark (also known as St. Vincent), Will Sheff of Okkervil River, and the horn players from Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings.[1]
Together is dedicated to the memory of Lynn Calder, the mother of keyboardist Kathryn Calder, and the half-sister of Carl Newman.[2] "Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk" was featured in an early 2011 ad campaign for the Amazon Kindle, while "Moves" was used in a commercial for the Hyundai 2012 Accent and a commercial for T-Mobile.
The album covers features a detail from "The Cliff" (2006) by Martin & Muñoz.
Videos from the album include "Your Hands (Together)", "Crash Years", "Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk", and "Moves".
Release
[edit]Matador Records released the song "Your Hands (Together)" in February 2010 as the first sample of the album.[1]
On March 23, the band announced their extensive North American tour in support of the album.
On April 25, the album was released as a digital stream on NPR's website, accessible until the album's May 4 release.[3]
As of 2013, sales in the United States have exceeded 85,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[4]
Reception
[edit]| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 6.5/10[5] |
| Metacritic | 71/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| The A.V. Club | A−[8] |
| Chicago Tribune | [9] |
| The Independent | [10] |
| Mojo | [11] |
| NME | 7/10[12] |
| Pitchfork | 7.3/10[13] |
| Q | [14] |
| Rolling Stone |  [15] |
| Spin | 7/10[16] |
Together was met with largely positive reviews. The album was a longlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize, a music award given annually to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit.[17]
Track listing
[edit]All songs written by Carl Newman, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Moves" | Newman | 3:53 |
| 2. | "Crash Years" | Neko Case | 4:07 |
| 3. | "Your Hands (Together)" | Newman, Case, Kathryn Calder | 3:33 |
| 4. | "Silver Jenny Dollar" (Dan Bejar) | Bejar | 2:53 |
| 5. | "Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk" | Calder | 3:40 |
| 6. | "My Shepherd" | Case | 4:36 |
| 7. | "If You Can't See My Mirrors" (Bejar) | Bejar | 2:56 |
| 8. | "Up in the Dark" | Newman | 3:10 |
| 9. | "Valkyrie in the Roller Disco" | Newman, Calder | 3:32 |
| 10. | "A Bite Out of My Bed" | Newman | 3:13 |
| 11. | "Daughters of Sorrow" (Bejar) | Bejar | 3:07 |
| 12. | "We End Up Together" | Newman, Calder | 5:47 |
| Total length: | 44:27 | ||
Togetherness: The New Pornographers Play Outrageous Cherry
[edit]Togetherness: The New Pornographers Play Outrageous Cherry was included as a bonus 7" single with pre-orders of the LP in the U.S. and Canada, and the songs were bonus tracks on downloads of the album.
All songs written by Matthew Smith.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Georgie, Don't You Know" | 1:51 |
| 14. | "Togetherness" | 2:14 |
| 15. | "Electric Child of Witchcraft Rising" | 3:40 |
| Total length: | 7:45 | |
Personnel
[edit]- Dan Bejar - Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Organ, Vibraphone, Percussion
- Kathryn Calder - Vocals, Keyboards, Piano
- Neko Case - Vocals
- John Collins - Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards, Kaossilator, Hagstrom 12 String
- Kurt Dahle - Drums, Percussion, Vox
- Todd Fancey - Guitar, Banjo
- A.C. Newman - Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards, Bass, Banjo
- Blaine Thurier - Keyboards
Additional musicians
[edit]- Annie Clark - Guitar Solo on "My Shepherd"
- Zach Condon - Trumpet on "A Bite Out of My Bed"
- The Dap-Kings Horns
- Cochemea Gastelum - Baritone Sax
- Dave Guy - Trumpet
- Ben Kalb - Cello
- Will Sheff - Back Up Vocals on "Moves"
- Neal Sugarman - Tenor Saxophone, Flute
- Tara Szczygielski - Violin
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Dombal, Ryan (2010-02-22). "New Track From New Pornographers: "Your Hands (Together)"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
- ^ a b Devlin, Mike (28 April 2010). "The New Pornographers Together again". Archived from the original on 3 June 2010. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
- ^ Thompson, Stephen (2010-04-25). "First Listen: The New Pornographers, 'Together'". NPR Music. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
- ^ "New Pornographers Working on Sixth Studio Album". Billboard.
- ^ "Together by The New Pornographers reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ^ "Reviews for Together by The New Pornographers". Metacritic. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Together – The New Pornographers". AllMusic. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
- ^ Phipps, Keith (May 4, 2010). "The New Pornographers: Together". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
- ^ Kot, Greg (May 3, 2010). "Album review: New Pornographers, 'Together'". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on May 6, 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- ^ Gill, Andy (April 30, 2010). "Album: The New Pornographers, Together (Matador)". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 4, 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- ^ "The New Pornographers: Together". Mojo (199): 94. June 2010.
- ^ Webb, Rob (April 30, 2010). "Album Review: The New Pornographers – 'Together' (Matador)". NME. Archived from the original on August 11, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- ^ Perpetua, Matthew (May 5, 2010). "The New Pornographers: Together". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
- ^ "The New Pornographers: Together". Q (287): 128. June 2010.
- ^ Hoard, Christian (May 4, 2007). "Together". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- ^ Wood, Mikael (April 27, 2010). "The New Pornographers, 'Together' (Matador)". Spin. Archived from the original on June 17, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- ^ "Blue Rodeo, BSS on Polaris long list". The Globe and Mail, June 17, 2010.
