Mass Romantic
Encyclopedia
Mass Romantic is the debut album by Canadian
indie rock
band The New Pornographers
. Produced by David Carswell
and band bassist John Collins
, it was released on Mint Records
in 2000. The album was three years in the making, with musicians A.C. Newman
and Dan Bejar
writing songs as early as 1998. With encouragement from peers, they recorded an album with other Canadian musicians from groups including Thee Evaporators, Zumpano
, and Destroyer
.
Released in 2000, the album failed to chart in Canada or the United States, but positive reviews from music media led to the group having a sold-out tour. Critical acclaim was very positive, and the album received a score of 87 from Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics.
's Carl Newman
, John Collins of Thee Evaporators, Dan Bejar of Destroyer
, Limblifter
's Kurt Dahle, filmmaker Blaine Thurier
, and alternative country
singer Neko Case
.
Production on the album was difficult. A.C. Newman
stated, "I remember 'Letter From an Occupant' was a pretty belabored song. It ended up being almost minimal, but I remember there's so much shit we put on it. There's a psychedelic 12-string guitar solo, a backwards guitar, there's a kind of really cool synth that's in there but buried. At some point, you have to choose. That was the hardest part about mixing the thing: just making that judgment call. I only feel at peace with the record now because people seem to like it."
Many of the songs on the album were written by A.C. Newman and Destroyer
frontman Dan Bejar
. Newman recalled that he thought "'How could we lose?' You could just take some interesting elements and put them together. Even taking myself out of the picture, when I looked at the band I just thought, 'This band's got to be great.' I thought, 'Okay, everyone can hate my songs, they can dismiss them.' But I have the most confidence in Dan's songs because I'm totally outside of him, looking in. I'm just a fan of him."
The song "Breakin' the Law" was taken from Destroyer's first album We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge
. The group vocals at the end of "Breakin' the Law" are credited to the Camp Northstar Kids' Chorus, a reference to the Canadian comedy film Meatballs
. The chorus is actually every member of the band singing. Newman stated, "I like the fact that people think that it's a kids' group...We made ourselves sound like a giant group, but we ended up sounding like little kids. I love the fact that in the Rolling Stone review they mention the chorus of kids. I just think it's great that people actually believe that, because it's such a fucking ridiculous thing for a band to do."
form of indie rock
." Many critics compared the album's music to musicians of the past. DiGravina noted comparison per individual song with "the Beatles
('The Mary Martin Show') to David Bowie
('The Slow Descent into Alcoholism') to T.Rex ('Mystery Hours') to Todd Rundgren
('The Fake Headlines')." Jim Caliguiry of The Austin Chronicle noted, "They borrow from Cheap Trick
, the Beach Boys
, Big Star, Roxy Music
, Buzzcocks
, and Robyn Hitchcock
". Rolling Stone
also made comparisons to Big Star and Cheap Trick.
The album's lyrics have been described as "ridiculous and melodramatic as they are witty".
on vinyl and compact disc
in Canada
. It received an official United States release when it was released in a remastered form by Matador Records
on October 7, 2003. "Letter from an Occupant", released on April 15, 2002, was the only single.
The New Pornographers went on their first tour to promote the album. The tour presented problems, including throat damage, broken-down buses, and having to take expensive cab rides. A.C. Newman spoke positively about the tour, stating, "There's been fairly good crowds, but the shows haven't been that crazy. They've been getting better... We're not really a party band. I hope people can party. We give them the music! Isn't that enough?" The tour sold out.
for Alternative Album of the Year
. The album received generally favorable reviews on its initial release. Allmusic awarded the album four and a half stars out of five, describing the album as one "that reveals its charms through repeat listens, and makes a listener wonder how the band can master so many different musical styles via so many vocalists while still maintaining a fiercely cohesive sound." Entertainment Weekly
gave them album an A rating, proclaiming it "An insanely contagious concoction of new wave, Cheap Trick, and garage-glam pandemonium, Romantic is a perfect pop album." PopMatters
also spoke positively of the album, stating that the New Pornographers "have made such a great album, tuneful, overdosed with hooks, that all the past sins of our Northern neighbors are forgiven. Well, maybe not Rush
, but close."
The Alternative Press gave the album a rating of four out of five, referring to it as a "masterful reproduction of underground power pop ca. 1979, complete with cheesy synths and slashing guitar leads". The Austin Chronicle awarded the album three and a half stars out of five stating "Mass Romantic is the type of album nobody makes anymore. It's an intricate and brightly colored gem, filled with sing-along melodies and sounds that shouldn't work together yet do." Rolling Stone
gave the album three and a half stars out of five, stating "they've made a striking power-pop album, forty staggeringly catchy minutes of four-part harmonies and Wall of Sound
production, exploding with energy and joy". In the United Kingdom
, the album received slightly more mixed reviews, with a four out of five star rating from Uncut
, but more average three out of five ratings from Q
and the NME
. The most negative review came from Stylus Magazine
, giving the album a D+ rating, stating that "Too many misdirected ideas weigh this album down".
The album charted in several best of the year lists from various critics. Pitchfork Media
rated it the ninth best album of 2001, stating, "Energetic, smooth, and masterfully executed, Mass Romantic is the catchiest thing to come out in ages." The site later placed Mass Romantic at number 91 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s. Magnet
magazine included the album in its "20 Best Albums of 2001" list. In Village Voice
s Pazz & Jop
critic's poll of 2001, the album placed at number seventeen. In December 2007, Blender
listed Mass Romantic as the 24th best indie rock album of all time. It is the second-highest Canadian album on the list behind Arcade Fire's Funeral
, which was selected as the 6th best.
except where noted.
Music of Canada
The music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between...
indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia.-History:The band's first four albums each ranked 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...
. Produced by David Carswell
David Carswell
David Carswell is a Canadian music producer and co-owner, with John Collins, of JCDC Studios, in Vancouver, BC Canada.-Produced:* Maow, Single on OH CANADUH!, 1995* Maow, The Unforgiving Sounds of..., 1996* The Evaporators, United Empire Loyalists, 1996...
and band bassist John Collins
John Collins (Canadian musician)
John Edward Collins is a member of The New Pornographers, Destroyer, and The Evaporators. He plays the bass, guitar, synthesizer, ebow and sings....
, it was released on Mint Records
Mint Records
Mint Records is a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based independent record label founded in January 1991, by friends and campus radio enthusiasts Randy Iwata and Bill Baker....
in 2000. The album was three years in the making, with musicians A.C. Newman
Carl Newman
Allan Carl Newman is a Canadian musician and songwriter. He was a member of the indie rock bands Superconductor and Zumpano in the 1990s. Following the breakup of those bands, he reemerged as the leader of The New Pornographers in 2000....
and Dan Bejar
Dan Bejar
Daniel Bejar is an independent singer-songwriter from Vancouver renowned for his challenging and often cryptic lyrics and unorthodox vocals featured in many of his songs. Bejar has gained widespread popularity through his musical collaborations with Vancouver indie-rock band The New Pornographers,...
writing songs as early as 1998. With encouragement from peers, they recorded an album with other Canadian musicians from groups including Thee Evaporators, Zumpano
Zumpano
Zumpano was a Canadian indie rock group in the 1990s.The band, whose power pop style resembled such contemporaries as Sloan and The Super Friendz, comprised vocalist/guitarist Carl Newman, keyboardist Michael Ledwidge, bassist Stefan Niemann and drummer Jason Zumpano.The band formed in 1992 after...
, and Destroyer
Destroyer (band)
Destroyer is a Canadian indie pop band fronted by singer-songwriter Dan Bejar.- Overview :Daniel Bejar is an independent pop singer-songwriter from Vancouver who formed Destroyer in 1995. He self-produced his first album, the lo-fi We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge, which was recorded at his in...
.
Released in 2000, the album failed to chart in Canada or the United States, but positive reviews from music media led to the group having a sold-out tour. Critical acclaim was very positive, and the album received a score of 87 from Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics.
Production
Mass Romantic was recorded over the course of almost three years. The first four songs were finished in early 1998. The New Pornographers claimed that the songs "were just sitting around. Friends would hear the songs and go, 'This is really great,' and so it was kind of frustrating in a way. We'd go, 'Yeah, well, we're going to try to record a record.'" The group's producer and bassist John Collins decided to refer to themselves as a super group. The band consisted of ZumpanoZumpano
Zumpano was a Canadian indie rock group in the 1990s.The band, whose power pop style resembled such contemporaries as Sloan and The Super Friendz, comprised vocalist/guitarist Carl Newman, keyboardist Michael Ledwidge, bassist Stefan Niemann and drummer Jason Zumpano.The band formed in 1992 after...
's Carl Newman
Carl Newman
Allan Carl Newman is a Canadian musician and songwriter. He was a member of the indie rock bands Superconductor and Zumpano in the 1990s. Following the breakup of those bands, he reemerged as the leader of The New Pornographers in 2000....
, John Collins of Thee Evaporators, Dan Bejar of Destroyer
Destroyer (band)
Destroyer is a Canadian indie pop band fronted by singer-songwriter Dan Bejar.- Overview :Daniel Bejar is an independent pop singer-songwriter from Vancouver who formed Destroyer in 1995. He self-produced his first album, the lo-fi We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge, which was recorded at his in...
, Limblifter
Limblifter
Limblifter is a Canadian alternative rock group from Vancouver, formed in 1996.-History:The group was originally formed by brothers Ryan Dahle and Kurt Dahle, as a side project from their main band, Age of Electric, along with a third member, Ian Somers...
's Kurt Dahle, filmmaker Blaine Thurier
Blaine Thurier
Blaine Thurier is a Canadian musician and film producer. He plays synthesizer with the Canadian indie pop supergroup The New Pornographers. Thurier also directs the band's music videos, and he has released films of his own.-Links:*...
, and alternative country
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
singer Neko Case
Neko Case
Neko Case is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her solo career and her contributions as a member of the Canadian indie rock group The New Pornographers....
.
Production on the album was difficult. A.C. Newman
Carl Newman
Allan Carl Newman is a Canadian musician and songwriter. He was a member of the indie rock bands Superconductor and Zumpano in the 1990s. Following the breakup of those bands, he reemerged as the leader of The New Pornographers in 2000....
stated, "I remember 'Letter From an Occupant' was a pretty belabored song. It ended up being almost minimal, but I remember there's so much shit we put on it. There's a psychedelic 12-string guitar solo, a backwards guitar, there's a kind of really cool synth that's in there but buried. At some point, you have to choose. That was the hardest part about mixing the thing: just making that judgment call. I only feel at peace with the record now because people seem to like it."
Many of the songs on the album were written by A.C. Newman and Destroyer
Destroyer (band)
Destroyer is a Canadian indie pop band fronted by singer-songwriter Dan Bejar.- Overview :Daniel Bejar is an independent pop singer-songwriter from Vancouver who formed Destroyer in 1995. He self-produced his first album, the lo-fi We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge, which was recorded at his in...
frontman Dan Bejar
Dan Bejar
Daniel Bejar is an independent singer-songwriter from Vancouver renowned for his challenging and often cryptic lyrics and unorthodox vocals featured in many of his songs. Bejar has gained widespread popularity through his musical collaborations with Vancouver indie-rock band The New Pornographers,...
. Newman recalled that he thought "'How could we lose?' You could just take some interesting elements and put them together. Even taking myself out of the picture, when I looked at the band I just thought, 'This band's got to be great.' I thought, 'Okay, everyone can hate my songs, they can dismiss them.' But I have the most confidence in Dan's songs because I'm totally outside of him, looking in. I'm just a fan of him."
The song "Breakin' the Law" was taken from Destroyer's first album We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge
We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge
We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge is the debut album by Destroyer. Originally released on Tinker in 1996, it was reissued by Scratch Records on October 24, 2006....
. The group vocals at the end of "Breakin' the Law" are credited to the Camp Northstar Kids' Chorus, a reference to the Canadian comedy film Meatballs
Meatballs (film)
Meatballs is a 1979 Canadian comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman. It is noted for the first film appearance of Bill Murray in a starring role and for launching Reitman into a distinguished career of financially successful comedies including Stripes and Ghostbusters , both starring Murray...
. The chorus is actually every member of the band singing. Newman stated, "I like the fact that people think that it's a kids' group...We made ourselves sound like a giant group, but we ended up sounding like little kids. I love the fact that in the Rolling Stone review they mention the chorus of kids. I just think it's great that people actually believe that, because it's such a fucking ridiculous thing for a band to do."
Style
Tim DiGravina of Allmusic called Mass Romantic an album that "displays a decidedly power popPower pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
form of indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
." Many critics compared the album's music to musicians of the past. DiGravina noted comparison per individual song with "the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
('The Mary Martin Show') to David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
('The Slow Descent into Alcoholism') to T.Rex ('Mystery Hours') to Todd Rundgren
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
('The Fake Headlines')." Jim Caliguiry of The Austin Chronicle noted, "They borrow from Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
, the Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
, Big Star, Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
, Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton in 1976, led by singer–songwriter–guitarist Pete Shelley.They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, pop punk and indie rock. They achieved commercial...
, and Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....
". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
also made comparisons to Big Star and Cheap Trick.
The album's lyrics have been described as "ridiculous and melodramatic as they are witty".
Release
Mass Romantic was released originally on November 21, 2000 by Mint RecordsMint Records
Mint Records is a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based independent record label founded in January 1991, by friends and campus radio enthusiasts Randy Iwata and Bill Baker....
on vinyl and compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It received an official United States release when it was released in a remastered form by Matador Records
Matador Records
Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of indie rock artists and bands.-History:Matador was started by Chris Lombardi in 1989 in his New York City apartment. The following year, Lombardi was joined by former Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy, and the two of them have...
on October 7, 2003. "Letter from an Occupant", released on April 15, 2002, was the only single.
The New Pornographers went on their first tour to promote the album. The tour presented problems, including throat damage, broken-down buses, and having to take expensive cab rides. A.C. Newman spoke positively about the tour, stating, "There's been fairly good crowds, but the shows haven't been that crazy. They've been getting better... We're not really a party band. I hope people can party. We give them the music! Isn't that enough?" The tour sold out.
Reception
Mass Romantic was well received in Canada, where it won a Juno AwardJuno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
for Alternative Album of the Year
Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year
The Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year is presented annually at Canada's Juno Awards to honour the best album of the year in the alternative rock and/or indie rock genres...
. The album received generally favorable reviews on its initial release. Allmusic awarded the album four and a half stars out of five, describing the album as one "that reveals its charms through repeat listens, and makes a listener wonder how the band can master so many different musical styles via so many vocalists while still maintaining a fiercely cohesive sound." Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave them album an A rating, proclaiming it "An insanely contagious concoction of new wave, Cheap Trick, and garage-glam pandemonium, Romantic is a perfect pop album." PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
also spoke positively of the album, stating that the New Pornographers "have made such a great album, tuneful, overdosed with hooks, that all the past sins of our Northern neighbors are forgiven. Well, maybe not Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
, but close."
The Alternative Press gave the album a rating of four out of five, referring to it as a "masterful reproduction of underground power pop ca. 1979, complete with cheesy synths and slashing guitar leads". The Austin Chronicle awarded the album three and a half stars out of five stating "Mass Romantic is the type of album nobody makes anymore. It's an intricate and brightly colored gem, filled with sing-along melodies and sounds that shouldn't work together yet do." Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
gave the album three and a half stars out of five, stating "they've made a striking power-pop album, forty staggeringly catchy minutes of four-part harmonies and Wall of Sound
Wall of Sound
The Wall of Sound is a music production technique for pop and rock music recordings developed by record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, California, during the early 1960s...
production, exploding with energy and joy". In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the album received slightly more mixed reviews, with a four out of five star rating from Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
, but more average three out of five ratings from Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
and the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
. The most negative review came from Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
, giving the album a D+ rating, stating that "Too many misdirected ideas weigh this album down".
The album charted in several best of the year lists from various critics. Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
rated it the ninth best album of 2001, stating, "Energetic, smooth, and masterfully executed, Mass Romantic is the catchiest thing to come out in ages." The site later placed Mass Romantic at number 91 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s. Magnet
Magnet (magazine)
Magnet is a music magazine which generally focuses on alternative, independent, or out-of-the-mainstream bands.-History:The magazine is published four times a year, and is independently owned and edited by Eric T. Miller. Music magazines with a similar focus in the 1990s era included Option,...
magazine included the album in its "20 Best Albums of 2001" list. In Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
s Pazz & Jop
Pazz & Jop
The Pazz & Jop critics' poll is a poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. It is compiled every year from the top ten lists of hundreds of music critics...
critic's poll of 2001, the album placed at number seventeen. In December 2007, Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
listed Mass Romantic as the 24th best indie rock album of all time. It is the second-highest Canadian album on the list behind Arcade Fire's Funeral
Funeral (album)
Funeral is the debut full-length album by the Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, released on September 14, 2004 in North America by Merge Records and on February 28, 2005 in Europe by Rough Trade Records...
, which was selected as the 6th best.
Track listing
All songs written by A.C. NewmanCarl Newman
Allan Carl Newman is a Canadian musician and songwriter. He was a member of the indie rock bands Superconductor and Zumpano in the 1990s. Following the breakup of those bands, he reemerged as the leader of The New Pornographers in 2000....
except where noted.
- "Mass Romantic" (Neko Case and Newman) – 4:11
- "The Fake Headlines" (vocals: Newman) – 2:45
- "The Slow Descent into Alcoholism" (vocals: Newman) – 3:56
- "Mystery Hours" (vocals: Newman) – 3:11
- "Jackie" (Dan Bejar and Neko Case) – 2:46
- "Letter from an Occupant" (vocals: Neko Case, Newman) – 3:46
- "To Wild Homes" (Newman, Neko Case and Dan Bejar) – 3:33
- "The Body Says No" (vocals: Newman)– 3:56
- "Execution Day" (Dan Bejar and Newman) – 2:59
- "Centre for Holy Wars" (vocals: Newman) – 3:06
- "The Mary MartinMary MartinMary Virginia Martin was an American actress and singer. She originated many roles over her career including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music. She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989...
Show" (vocals: Newman)– 3:19 - "Breakin' the Law" (Newman and Dan Bejar) – 3:27
- "The End of Medicine" (Japanese release)
- "When I Was a Baby" (Japanese release)
Personnel
- Bill Anderson – photography
- Daniel Bejar – vocals, multi-instruments, korgKorgis a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners...
synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, pipe organPipe organThe pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
, wurlitzerWurlitzerThe Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to simply as Wurlitzer, was an American company that produced stringed instruments, woodwinds, brass instruments, theatre organs, band organs, orchestrions, electronic organs, electric pianos and jukeboxes.... - David CarswellDavid CarswellDavid Carswell is a Canadian music producer and co-owner, with John Collins, of JCDC Studios, in Vancouver, BC Canada.-Produced:* Maow, Single on OH CANADUH!, 1995* Maow, The Unforgiving Sounds of..., 1996* The Evaporators, United Empire Loyalists, 1996...
– producer - Neko CaseNeko CaseNeko Case is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her solo career and her contributions as a member of the Canadian indie rock group The New Pornographers....
– vocals - John CollinsJohn Collins- Arts :*John Churton Collins , English literary critic*John Collins , bass guitarist for Powderfinger*John Collins , of The New Pornographers and The Smugglers...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, producer, engineer - Kurt DahleKurt DahleKurt Dahle is a Canadian musician best known for his work as a drummer with the rock bands Age of Electric, Limblifter, and The New Pornographers....
– drums, vocals - Carl NewmanCarl NewmanAllan Carl Newman is a Canadian musician and songwriter. He was a member of the indie rock bands Superconductor and Zumpano in the 1990s. Following the breakup of those bands, he reemerged as the leader of The New Pornographers in 2000....
– vocals, korg synthesizer, pipe organ, wurlitzer - Shannon Oksanen – photography
- Fisher Rose – drums
- Blaine ThurierBlaine ThurierBlaine Thurier is a Canadian musician and film producer. He plays synthesizer with the Canadian indie pop supergroup The New Pornographers. Thurier also directs the band's music videos, and he has released films of his own.-Links:*...
– keyboards
External links
- Mass Romantic at Rate Your MusicRate Your MusicRate Your Music is a metadata database where musical albums, EPs, singles, videos, bootlegs, and movies are rated and reviewed by users. This data is then used to generate recommendations for users and to create rated lists of albums...