Diandra Reviews It All

Seven albums is not an easy feat to achieve as an artist, The New Pornographers have not only climbed this milestone but have re-vamped it. Their synth-pop usually carries a dark-undertone with its futurism, but their new, seventh record Whiteout Conditions has a brighter sound/ meaning.

The irony of Whiteout Conditions’ future sound is that, in a time, where the future seems, not just grim but non-existent, The New Pornographers are making its music rich like, a blazing glory. That being said, The New Pornographers always approach humanity and its conditions or “conditioning” with hints of sarcasm and rebuke. “High Ticket Attractions”, “Second Sleep”, “Juke” and “This Is A World of Theater” all seem to marvel at the exhaustive “look at me” nature that has swept humanity. For how much people beg to be “seen and heard”, who is really questioning what they have to say and show? Thus, I admire The New Pornographers, known for their constant greatness, for trying to freshen their formula by opening their verses and instrumentals to promote positivism. If their last six albums were about the loss of sentiment over digitization, this one is about regaining it. While A.C. Newman still knows how to make a catchy melody and a captivating hook, Whiteout Conditions shines because instead of The New Pornographers usual sound/themes of a steam-rolled humanity on the cusp of replacing its flesh and blood with screws and bolts, it seems they have joined the “resistance”.

The New Pornographers – High Ticket Attractions (Official Music Video)

High Ticket Attractions

Resist seems to be the word of 2017, and Whiteout Conditions is a giant album of “resist”. Songs such as “Play Money”, “We’ve Been Here Before”, and “Clockwise” are sonic calls to stop blanketing ourselves with the “same” approaches to life that never work. Material things will never be spiritual, i.e. money is not happiness and the more you have does not mean the more you “are”. Globally, it is time for positive change, and in a world where, literally, every human being has asked life to get better, The New Pornographers are asking YOU to get better at life. That little twist gives Whiteout Conditions the brightness I speak of, and, maybe, why their sound is not, necessarily different as much as it plays differently. You still get the feeling that you have entered a factory of music like in, “Darling Shade” or “Whiteout Conditions”, and A.C. Newman is the voice you need to turn it on. Thus, Whiteout Conditions, feels like a spiritual hymn from 2046. It still carries keys and chords that have The New Pornographers usual “artifice” aura, but their messages have grown and their “machine-like” sound has a slightly spiritual chorus to it. From “Colosseums” to “Avalanche Alley” humanity may be falling, but there is still hope that, one day, it will fly. For More Information On The New Pornographers Click Here And Buy Whiteout Conditions On April 7.