Together (The New Pornographers album)
| Together | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by The New Pornographers | ||||
| 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 | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 71%[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| American Music Channel |  [3] |
| The Boston Phoenix | (8.7/10)[4] |
| Chicago Tribune | [5] |
| Consequence of Sound | [6] |
| Drowned in Sound | (7/10)[7] |
| NOW | [8] |
| Q | [9] |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.3/10)[10] |
| PopMatters | (9/10)[11] |
| Rolling Stone | [12] |
| Spin | [13] |
| Robert Christgau |  [14] |
| Uncut | [15] |
Together is the fifth studio album by Canadian indie rock band The New Pornographers. It was released on May 4, 2010[16] and debuted at number 18 on the Billboard 200.
The album was recorded in seven studios in British Columbia and New York[17] 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.[16]
Together is dedicated to the memory of Lynn Calder, who was the mother of keyboardist Kathryn Calder, and the half-sister of Carl Newman.[17] "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.
Videos from the album include "Your Hands (Together)", "Crash Years", "Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk", and "Moves".
Release
Matador Records released the song "Your Hands (Together)" in February 2010 as the first sample of the album.[16]
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.[18]
Reception
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.[19]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Moves" | Carl Newman | 3:53 |
| 2. | "Crash Years" | Newman | 4:07 |
| 3. | "Your Hands (Together)" | Newman | 3:33 |
| 4. | "Silver Jenny Dollar" | Dan Bejar | 2:53 |
| 5. | "Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk" | Newman | 3:40 |
| 6. | "My Shepherd" | Newman | 4:36 |
| 7. | "If You Can't See My Mirrors" | Bejar | 2:56 |
| 8. | "Up in the Dark" | Newman | 3:10 |
| 9. | "Valkyrie in the Roller Disco" | Newman | 3:32 |
| 10. | "A Bite Out of My Bed" | Newman | 3:13 |
| 11. | "Daughters of Sorrow" | Bejar | 3:07 |
| 12. | "We End Up Together" | Newman | 5:47 |
Total length: |
44:27 | ||
Personnel
- 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
- 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
- ↑ "Together". Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-05-13.
- ↑ "Allmusic review".
- ↑ "American Music Channel review".
- ↑ "Phoenix review".
- ↑ "Chicago Tribune review". 2010-05-03.
- ↑ "Consequence of Sound review".
- ↑ "Drowned in Sound review".
- ↑ "Now review".
- ↑ "Q review".
- ↑ "Pitchfork Media review".
- ↑ "PopMatters review".
- ↑ "Rolling Stone review".
- ↑ "Spin review".
- ↑ link
- ↑ "Uncut review".
- 1 2 3 Dombal, Ryan (2010-02-22). "New Track From New Pornographers: "Your Hands (Together)"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
- 1 2 Devlin, Mike (28 April 2010). "The New Pornographers Together again". Retrieved 6 July 2010.
- ↑ Thompson, Stephen (2010-04-25). "First Listen: The New Pornographers, 'Together'". NPR Music. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
- ↑ "Blue Rodeo, BSS on Polaris long list". The Globe and Mail, June 17, 2010.
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