Matador Records
2009
Get Guilty
About This Album
Carl Newman has been behind so many excellent bands and albums that by 2009 it has become increasingly easy to take a new album for granted, to mistake his steady craftsmanship for complacency. While it's true that Get Guilty doesn't break any new ground, you'd be wrong to think that Newman is treading water or just cranking out albums because it's his job. The album is full of songs that would have made the cut for the New Pornographers' last couple albums -- in fact, some (like "The Heartbreak Rides" and "Submarines of Stockholm") would have bested everything there. At the risk of sounding heretical, at this point in time the A.C. Newman records are superior to the New Pornographers albums. Sure, the NPs make bright and shiny indie rock albums that sound great on the radio, but they also have acquired a layer of gloss and bombast that makes it hard to truly embrace their sound. On his solo albums, Newman is more relaxed with the arrangements; many of the songs forgo the insistent rhythms of the NPs for a more stripped-down and immediate feel. While there is less experimentation here than on Slow Wonder, it's still nice to hear Newman thinking small(er).
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9)

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