“Perhaps the greatest feat of all is that any given New Pornographers song remains instantly recognizable, regardless of who wrote it or who sings it. As much as they vary in tone and origin, each track still exudes a familiar sort of fizzy urgency, complete with hairpin turns, weird bits of wordplay, hooks piled atop hooks and layers of vocal harmonies that make each song sound as if it’s shellacked in sunshine. The New Pornographers’ fifth album, Together, strings together another string of unimpeachable pop gems, whether they’re lush Neko Case- and Kathryn Calder-sung ballads (‘My Shepherd’), weird Dan Bejar-sung seethers (‘Silver Jenny Dollar’) or grandiose A.C. Newman-sung blowouts (‘The Moves’). Newman, Case and Bejar all get their due here, with the help of contributors both permanent (Calder, guitarist Todd Fancey, et al) and transient (Okkervil River’s Will Sheff, St. Vincent’s Annie Clark, Beirut’s Zach Condon, the horns of The Dap-Kings).” – Stephen Thompson, NPR
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