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The New Pornographers

Canadian indie rock band

Summary

Canadian indie rock band

FieldValue
nameThe New Pornographers
imageMusic - New Pornographers - Prospect Park Bandshell (19586285503).jpg
altThe band onstage
captionThe New Pornographers at Prospect Park Bandshell, July 11, 2015
landscapeyes
originVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
genre
years_active1997–present
label
spinoff_of
spinoffs
website
current_members
past_members

The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock band, formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Presented as a musical collective and supergroup of singer-songwriters and musicians from multiple projects, the band currently consists of Carl Newman (vocals, guitar), Neko Case (vocals), John Collins (bass), Todd Fancey (guitar), and Kathryn Calder (keyboards, backing vocals).

The band has released nine studio albums to date and have received critical acclaim for their use of multiple vocalists and songwriters, as well as for the elements of power pop incorporated into their music. Pitchfork has described the band's sound as "peppy, gleeful, headstrong guitar pop", while Stereogum has retrospectively praised the band's debut album Mass Romantic as "one of the greatest" power pop albums.

History

The New Pornographers' name was chosen by Carl Newman, who has said that he came up with it because he was a fan of a Japanese film called The Pornographers. It was also an homage to The New Seekers and "The Pornographers," a track on bandmate Dan Bejar's first Destroyer album, We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge. The band has released nine albums to date: Mass Romantic (2000), Electric Version (2003), Twin Cinema (2005), Challengers (2007), Together (2010), Brill Bruisers (2014), Whiteout Conditions (2017), In the Morse Code of Brake Lights (2019), and Continue as a Guest (2023). A live album recorded on their 2006 tour is available only at concerts and on the band's website. In 2005, the band was the subject of Reginald Harkema's documentary film Better Off in Bed.

The New Pornographers' first four albums each placed in the top 40 on The Village Voices Pazz & Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a New Pornographers' album or a solo album from one of the band's members ranked in the top 40 on the list each year. In 2007, Blender magazine ranked the New Pornographers' first album, Mass Romantic, the 24th best indie album of all time. In 2009, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the band's second studio album, Electric Version, No. 79 in the "100 Best Albums of the Decade".

All of the New Pornographers' original members were prominent within the Vancouver music scene prior to forming the band. Kathryn Calder, who is also Newman's niece, joined the band in 2005 largely as a live replacement for Neko Case, whose solo career often left her unavailable to perform with the band. Calder's first lead vocals for the band were on 2007's Challengers, singing the lead on "Failsafe" and sharing the lead with Newman on "Adventures in Solitude".

In 2009, the New Pornographers contributed a cover of the Destroyer song "Hey, Snow White" to the AIDS benefit album Dark Was the Night, produced by the Red Hot Organization. The band released their fifth album, Together, on May 4, 2010, on Matador Records. The album includes collaborations from St. Vincent, Beirut's Zach Condon, and Okkervil River's Will Sheff.

In 2012, the New Pornographers contributed a cover of the song "Think About Me" for the Fleetwood Mac tribute CD called Just Tell Me That You Want Me released by Hear Music. The band's sixth album, Brill Bruisers, was released on August 26, 2014. The album was their highest charting to date in the United States, peaking at #13 on the Billboard 200.

On January 26, 2017, the New Pornographers announced their seventh album, Whiteout Conditions, would be released on April 7. The album was preceded by the single "High Ticket Attractions". The album is the first to feature drummer Joe Seiders as a full-time member after replacing drummer Kurt Dahle in mid-2014. It is also the first New Pornographers album to not feature Dan Bejar. Newman, however, went on the record to note that Bejar's absence did not mean he had left the band entirely; telling Stereogum:

On November 29, 2018, A.C. Newman announced via Twitter that he had begun work on a future New Pornographers album. On August 2, 2019, the band announced via Twitter that it would release its new album, In the Morse Code of Brake Lights, on September 27, and released its first single from the album, "Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile". In a press release for the album, Dan Bejar is described as a "former (and possibly future) member" of the band. The new press photos for the band include vocalist/violinist Simi Stone, officially inducting her into the band after being an auxiliary touring member since 2015.

In July 2021, the band announced a North American tour where they would play Mass Romantic and Twin Cinema in full across simultaneous nights, as well as a reissue of Mass Romantic on vinyl. This announcement also confirmed the return of Bejar to the band, as well as the departure of both Thurier and Stone.

On January 9, 2023, A.C. Newman announced via Twitter that the band had moved to a new label, Merge Records, alongside announcing the band's ninth album Continue as a Guest, a single from the album, "Really Really Light", and a tour starting in April. The band's press photos confirmed Bejar's second departure from the group – although he has a co-writing credit on "Really Really Light".

On April 17, 2025, drummer Joe Seiders, who had been with the band since 2014, was arrested in California on child pornography charges, leading to the band to immediately fire him. In November 2025, the band confirmed that they would be continuing, and would tour North America in 2026. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Newman also confirmed that Seiders' drum parts for the band's forthcoming tenth studio album, slated for release in 2026, had been scrapped. Charley Drayton overdubbed new drum parts onto the album. In January 2026, the band officially announced their new album, The Former Site Of, and shared its lead single 'Votive'. It is slated for release on Friday March 27 via Merge.

Members

Members' other projects in brackets

Current members

  • Neko Case – lead and backing vocals, percussion (solo artist, Maow, The Corn Sisters, Cub, case/lang/veirs) (1997–present)
  • John Collins – bass, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, percussion (the Evaporators, Destroyer, Thorsen) (1997–present)
  • Carl Newman – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass (solo artist (as A.C. Newman), Superconductor, Zumpano, Thee Crusaders) (1997–present)
  • Todd Fancey – guitar, backing vocals (solo artist (as Fancey), Limblifter) (2003–present)
  • Kathryn Calder – keyboards, backing vocals, guitar (solo artist, Immaculate Machine, Frontperson) (2005–present)

Current touring musicians

  • Nora O'Connor – backing vocals, percussion (The Flat Five) (2021–present)
  • Adam Schatz – saxophone, synthesizer (Japanese Breakfast) (2023–present)
  • Josh Wells – drums (Destroyer, Black Mountain) (2026–present)

Former members

  • Fisher Rose – drums (Destroyer, A.C. Newman) (1997–1999)
  • Kurt Dahle – drums, percussion, backing vocals (Limblifter, the Age of Electric) (1999–2014)
  • Simi Stone – violin, backing vocals, percussion (solo artist, Suffrajett) (2019–2021; touring musician 2015–2019)
  • Blaine Thurier – keyboards, synthesizer (independent filmmaker, Thee Crusaders) (1997–2021)
  • Dan Bejar – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer (Destroyer, Swan Lake, Hello, Blue Roses) (1997–2017, 2021–2022)
  • Joe Seiders – drums, backing vocals (Beat Club) (2014–2025)

Former touring musicians

  • Lindsay "Coco" Hames – backing vocals, percussion, acoustic guitar (The Ettes) (2014)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:90 bottom:100 top:0 right:15 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1997 till: TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1997 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1997

Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals id:bvocals value:pink legend:Backing_vocals,_percussion id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:keyboard value:purple legend:Keyboards,_synthesizer id:violin value:drabgreen legend:Violin id:studio value:black legend:Studio_album

LineData = color:studio layer:back at:11/21/2000 at:05/06/2003 at:08/23/2005 at:08/21/2007 at:05/04/2010 at:08/26/2014 at:04/07/2017 at:09/27/2019 at:03/31/2023

BarData = bar:Newman text:"Carl Newman" bar:Case text:"Neko Case" bar:Bejar text:"Dan Bejar" bar:Fancey text:"Todd Fancey" bar:Thurier text:"Blaine Thurier" bar:Calder text:"Kathryn Calder" bar:Collins text:"John Collins" bar:Stone text:"Simi Stone" bar:Rose text:"Fisher Rose" bar:Dahle text:"Kurt Dahle" bar:Seiders text:"Joe Seiders"

PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Newman from:01/01/1997 till:end color:vocals bar:Newman from:01/01/1997 till:06/01/2014 color:keyboard width:3 bar:Newman from:06/01/2001 till:06/01/2014 color:guitar width:7 bar:Newman from:06/01/2006 till:06/01/2014 color:bass width:5 bar:Newman from:06/01/2014 till:end color:guitar width:3 bar:Case from:01/01/1997 till:end color:vocals bar:Case from:01/01/1997 till:end color:bvocals width:3 bar:Bejar from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/2017 color:vocals bar:Bejar from:01/01/1997 till:06/01/2001 color:guitar width:7 bar:Bejar from:01/01/1997 till:06/01/2001 color:keyboard width:3 bar:Bejar from:11/01/2004 till:06/01/2014 color:guitar width:7 bar:Bejar from:11/01/2004 till:06/01/2014 color:keyboard width:3 bar:Bejar from:07/13/2021 till:12/17/2022 color:vocals bar:Fancey from:01/01/2003 till:end color:guitar bar:Fancey from:01/01/2003 till:11/01/2004 color:keyboard width:3 bar:Fancey from:08/01/2019 till:end color:bvocals width:3 bar:Thurier from:01/01/1997 till:07/13/2021 color:keyboard bar:Calder from:03/01/2005 till:end color:keyboard bar:Calder from:03/01/2005 till:end color:bvocals width:3 bar:Calder from:01/01/2017 till:end color:guitar width:7 bar:Collins from:01/01/1997 till:end color:bass bar:Collins from:06/01/2001 till:06/01/2014 color:keyboard width:7 bar:Collins from:06/01/2001 till:06/01/2014 color:guitar width:5 bar:Collins from:06/01/2001 till:06/01/2014 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Rose from:01/01/1997 till:07/21/1999 color:drums bar:Dahle from:07/21/1999 till:09/14/2014 color:drums bar:Dahle from:07/21/1999 till:09/14/2014 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Seiders from:09/15/2014 till:04/17/2025 color:drums bar:Seiders from:09/15/2014 till:04/17/2025 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Stone from:08/01/2019 till:07/13/2021 color:violin bar:Stone from:08/01/2019 till:07/13/2021 color:bvocals width:3

Discography

Studio albums

TitleDetailsPeak chart positionsCAN
Peaks on the Canadian Albums Chart:AUS
Hit.
Peaks on the ARIA Hitseekers chart:SCO
Peaks on the Scottish Albums chart:UK
UK
Indie
Peaks in UK Independent Albums Chart:US
US
Indie
US
Rock
Mass RomanticElectric VersionTwin CinemaChallengersTogetherBrill BruisersWhiteout ConditionsIn the Morse Code of Brake LightsContinue as a GuestThe Former Site Of
————————
66————19612—
40————445—
20——1561334410
1416—168181825
14394132321323
8217———35—6
—————144—26
————45———
colspan="8"
"—" denotes a release that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Live albums

  • Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) (2005)
  • Live! (2006)
  • LIVE from SoHo (iTunes Exclusive) (2008)

Singles

TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbumCAN
Rock
AUT
US
AAA
US
Rock
Air
MEX
Air
UK
"Letter from an Occupant""High Art, Local News""Twin Cinema""Use It""Sing Me Spanish Techno""Challengers""My Rights Versus Yours""The Spirit of Giving""Myriad Harbour""Mutiny, I Promise You""Hey, Snow White""Your Hands (Together)""Crash Years""Togetherness""Moves""Up in the Dark""Brill Bruisers""War on the East Coast""Dancehall Domine""Champions of Red Wine""High Ticket Attractions""This Is the World of the Theatre""Whiteout Conditions""Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile""The Surprise Knock""One Kind of Solomon""Really Really Light""Angelcover""Pontius Pilate's Home Movies""Votive"
2002—————139Mass Romantic
2005——————Twin Cinema
——————
——————
——————
2007——————Challengers
——————
——————
2008——————Challengers
——————
2009—46————Dark Was the Night
201043———16—Together
——————
——————
2011——————Together
——————
201424—————Brill Bruisers
——————
——————
2015——————
201727—549——Whiteout Conditions
——————
——24———
2019——12———In the Morse Code of Brake Lights
——————
——————
2023——24———Continue as a Guest
——————
——————
2026colspan="6"The Former Site Of
"—" denotes a release that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Contributions with non-LP songs

  • FUBAR: The Album (2002) – "Your Daddy Don't Know"
  • Matador at Fifteen (2004) – "Graceland"
  • Dark Was the Night (2009) – "Hey, Snow White"
  • Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe (2011) - "Hey, Snow White"
  • Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac (2012) – "Think About Me"

Other contributions

  • Queer as Folk (2000) – "Mass Romantic"
  • Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) – "Letter from an Occupant"
  • Men with Brooms (2002) – "Mass Romantic"
  • CBC Radio 3 Sessions, Vol. 1 (2004) – "The Fake Headlines"
  • Prom Queen: The Marc Hall Story (2004) – "Mass Romantic"
  • The Office (Season 2, Episode 7: "The Client") (2005) – "Use It"
  • Weeds (2005) – "The Laws Have Changed"
  • Waiting... (2005) – "Electric Version"
  • Gilmore Girls (2004) – "The Laws Have Changed"
  • Gilmore Girls (2005) – "Twin Cinema"
  • The Hour (Main Title Theme Season 3) (2006) – "Use It"
  • Chuck (Season 1, Episode 2: "Chuck Versus the Helicopter") (2007) – "Challengers"
  • Heroes (Season 2, Episode 6: "The Line") (2007) – "All for Swinging You Around"
  • Rock Band (2007) – "Electric Version", "Use It", "All of the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth" (DLC)
  • University of Phoenix commercial (2007) – "Bleeding Heart Show"
  • Stone of Destiny (2008) – "Mutiny, I Promise You"
  • NBA playoffs (2008) – "Use It"
  • Numb3rs (2008) – "Challengers"
  • Secret Diary of a Call Girl (Series 2, Episode 2) (2008) – "Adventures in Solitude"
  • Management (2009) – "Adventures in Solitude", "All the Old Showstoppers"
  • Ugly Betty (2010) – "Adventures in Solitude"
  • The Good Wife (Season 2, Episode 13) (2011) – "Testament to Youth in Verse"
  • Amazon Kindle commercial – "Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk"
  • T-Mobile commercial (2011) – "Moves"
  • Hyundai commercial (Canada) – "Moves"
  • Go On (opening credits) (2012) – "Moves"
  • Between (Season 1, Episode 1) (2015) – "Moves"
  • Speechless (Season 1, Episode 22: "M-A-- MAY-JAY") (2017) – "Dancehall Domine"
  • Blindspot (Season 3, Episode 1) – "The Bleeding Heart Show"
  • Daybreak (Season 1, Episode 9) – "Adventures in Solitude"

Notes

References

References

  1. (October 11, 2013). "The 10 Best New Pornographers Songs". Stereogum Media.
  2. "The New Pornographers, 'Twin Cinema' (Matador)". SPIN.
  3. "The New Pornographers: Mass Romantic". Pitchfork Media.
  4. (10 May 2019). "New Pornographers Reveal True Origin Of Their Name". Chart Attack.
  5. Handler, Shane. (November 1, 2005). "The New Pornographers: Canadian Blockbuster". Glide Magazine.
  6. "Harkema's road rockumentary inspired by the Rolling Stones". ''[[Edmonton Journal]]'', July 22, 2005.
  7. "Pazz & Jop awards from". robertchristgau.com.
  8. (November 15, 2007). "100 Greatest Indie-Rock Albums of all time, No. 30 – No. 21, from". Blender.com.
  9. (December 10, 2009). "Rolling Stone lists Top 100 of decade". CBC News.
  10. Lindsay, Andrew. (February 22, 2010). "The New Pornographers reveal album details". Stereokill.net.
  11. Gordon, Jeremy. (June 10, 2014). "The New Pornographers Announce New Album Brill Bruisers, Share Title Track, Tour". [[Pitchfork Media]].
  12. (January 26, 2017). "The New Pornographers – "High Ticket Attractions"".
  13. Giles, Jeff. (January 27, 2017). "New Pornographers Announce 'Whiteout Conditions' LP, Release 'High Ticket Attractions' Single".
  14. (17 March 2017). "Q&A: A.C. Newman On Canadian Healthcare, Dan Bejar, And The New Pornographers' Whiteout Conditions".
  15. "Hey, working on a new @TheNewPornos album everybody.".
  16. Shaffer, Claire. (August 2, 2019). "The New Pornographers Announce New Album, Share Lead Single".
  17. (July 13, 2021). "The New Pornographers Announce Mass Romantic Reissue, Full Album Tour". [[Pitchfork (website).
  18. "A few things: 1) ⁦@TheNewPornos⁩ signed to ⁦@mergerecords! 2) New LP 'Continue as a Guest' out 3/31! 3) New song 'Really Really Light' available today! 4) New tour starts in April! 5) Can you buy tickets? Probably! I'll post a link soon, or if not me, someone!".
  19. (January 9, 2023). "The New Pornographers Announce Album, Share Song: Listen". Pitchfork Media.
  20. (17 April 2025). "New Pornographers Drummer Joseph Seiders Charged with Child Pornography". Consequence.
  21. "The New Pornographers Announce 2026 U.S. Tour".
  22. "'Like A Horror Movie': The New Pornographers' A.C. Newman Talks Ex-Drummer's Child Porn Arrest".
  23. "The New Pornographers Detail New Album, Share Video".
  24. (8 May 2023). "Concert Preview: The New Pornographers at Newport Music Hall". Columbus Underground.
  25. "Japanese Breakfast expand their palate; play songs from". www.thecurrent.org.
  26. Cohen, Katherine. (July 14, 2015). "AC Newman on the last bit of the New Pornographers' 'Brill Bruisers' tour from".
  27. "UK Chartlog: Nadanuf – Michael Nyman".
  28. "The New Pornographers – Chart History: Billboard 200".
  29. "The New Pornographers – Chart History: Independent Albums".
  30. "The New Pornographers – Chart History: Rock Albums".
  31. "Continue as a Guest – The New Pornographers".
  32. "The New Pornographers – Chart History: Top Album Sales".
  33. "The New Pornographers – Chart History: Canada Rock".
  34. "The New Pornographers – Austrian Charts". austriancharts.at/.
  35. "The New Pornographers – Chart History: Triple A Airplay".
  36. "The New Pornographers – Chart History: Rock Airplay".
  37. "The New Pornographers – Chart History: Mexico Ingles Airplay".
  38. (September 2023). "Letter from an Occupant > Overview". Allmusic.
  39. (May 2, 2005). "New New Pornographers: 'Twin Cinema'". Stereogum.
  40. "Challengers by The New Pornographers on Apple Music". Apple Music.
  41. (May 29, 2007). "The New Pornographers – "My Rights Versus Yours"". Stereogum.
  42. "The Spirit of Giving - EP by The New Pornographers on Apple Music". Apple Music.
  43. Singh, Amrit. (February 14, 2008). "New New Pornographers – "Myriad Harbour"". Stereogum.
  44. Stosuy, Brandon. (September 29, 2008). "New New Pornographers – "Mutiny, I Promise You"". Stereogum.
  45. Stosuy, Brandon. (February 6, 2009). "New New Pornographers – "Hey, Snow White"". Stereogu.
  46. "Your Hands (Together) by The New Pornographers on Apple Music". Apple Music.
  47. "Crash Years - Single by The New Pornographers on Apple Music". Apple Music.
  48. "Matador - The New Pornographers". Matador.
  49. Singh, Amrit. (February 7, 2011). "The New Pornographers – "Moves"". Stereogum.
  50. "Up in the Dark by The New Pornographers on Apple Music". Apple Music.
  51. "Future Releases on Triple A (AAA) Radio Stations". All Access Music Group.
  52. "War on the East Coast by The New Pornographers on Apple Music". Apple Music.
  53. Deville, Chris. (October 1, 2014). "The New Pornographers – "Dancehall Domine"". Stereogum.
  54. Breihan, Tom. (May 28, 2015). "The New Pornographers – "Champions Of Red Wine"". Stereogu.
  55. Gaca, Anna. (January 27, 2017). "The New Pornographers Announce New Album Whiteout Conditions, Share "High Ticket Attractions"".
  56. Helman, Peter. (February 24, 2017). "The New Pornographers – "This Is the World of the Theater"". Stereogum.
  57. "Whiteout Conditions by The New Pornographers on Apple Music". Apple Music.
  58. "Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile by The New Pornographers on Apple Music". Apple Music.
  59. Breihan, Tom. (August 23, 2019). "The New Pornographers Share New Song "The Surprise Knock": Listen". Stereogum.
  60. Breihan, Tom. (September 13, 2019). "The New Pornographers – "One Kind of Solomon"". Stereogum.
  61. Geraghty, Hollie. (January 10, 2023). "The New Pornographers announce new album 'Continue as a Guest' and share single 'Really Really Light'".
Wikipedia Source

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