MFR

Download: A.C. Newman - "Miracle Drug"
Download: A.C. Newman - "Drink To Me, Then"

The New Pornographers are rightly considered by many as one of the greatest power-pop groups to have emerged this decade. This assessment should be considered a surprise, given the fact that the Canadian group is almost saturated with seemingly supernatural talent--members include Neko Case, Dan Bejar, and A.C. Newman.

The first two names of that list either had, or were on their way to establishing, solo careers of their own, when the New Pornographers released their first album, Mass Romantic, in 2000. The third, Newman, released his first solo album, The Slow Wonder, in 2004. While there was the trademark bouncy pop effervescence on most of the album, there was a hint of wistful melancholy in tracks like on "Come Crash"--a stylistic tendency that showed up on the Pornos most recent effort, the underrated Challengers. No word on what Get Guilty, the second solo effort from Newman, to be released on January, 20th, 2009, will sound like, but Matablog states that "we’re confident ‘Get Guilty’ raises the bar on Carl Newman’s songwriting prowess even higher."

That's almost terrifying, in a way. We'll find out in a few weeks, when an MP3 from the record will be released. But in the meantime, peep the album cover at the top of the post, and check out Newman's day job covering ELO's "Don't Break Me Down" at the Hideout Block Party: