Performer Notes

Audio Mixer: David Carswell.
Photographer: Jenny Jimenez.
Calling the New Pornographers' music smart pop almost underestimates the group; there's smart, and then there's these folks, whose cleverness suggests their tunes got their undergrad degree at Yale and did their master's at Harvard. But A.C. Newman and his crew also have a keen understanding of the mind/body conundrum -- they want their music to be as intelligent as they are, but they also want it to feel good. At their best, the New Pornographers have shown they know how to strike an impressive balance between what's smart and what's fun since dropping Mass Romantic in 2000. They've once again hit that mark all but perfectly on 2017's Whiteout Conditions. Full of gleaming surfaces dominated by drums and keyboards, this album suggests a new wave dance disc of the '80s that had the chance to mature and do a lot of reading, and this music is mature while still encouraging the listener to crash the party and dance. Electronic keyboards and percussion dominate the arrangements, but the results sound admirably organic, as if there's a healthy pulse beneath all the electronics, and Newman made clever use of his vocalists, as voices glide over the music that's constructed in part from samples of their own singing. And if there's a healthy portion of cynicism in these songs, that's one of the reasons Newman and his Pornographers sound warm and realistic, without succumbing to a false optimism common to this sort of music. You can dance to the music on Whiteout Conditions; you can also tap your feet, sing along, or just ponder its literacy if you prefer, and it will be rewarding under any circumstance. If North America has a better and more insightful pop group than the New Pornographers, don't tell them, or they'll start on a new reading program to beat the competition. Whiteout Conditions shows they're already brighter and more satisfying than just about any of their peers. ~ Mark Deming

Professional Reviews

Magnet - "It is Newman's steady creative hand and brilliant understanding of pop music's beating human heart that once again win the day on WHITEOUT CONDITIONS."

Paste (magazine) - "While Newman's knack for melodies is on full display here -- every song on WHITEOUT CONDITIONS invites head-bobbing or singing along -- the album's success stems at least as much from his penchant for experimenting with arrangement and structure."

Pitchfork (Website) - "It's Case who brings out the playful core of WHITEOUT CONDITIONS....She sings with a clean minimalism in the comparatively clipped phrasings of pop music."

Album: Whiteout Conditions
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Play Money	More Info...
2)	Whiteout Conditions	More Info...
3)	High Ticket Attractions	More Info...
4)	This Is the World of Theatre	More Info...
5)	Darling Shade	More Info...
6)	Second Sleep	More Info...
7)	Colosseums	More Info...
8)	We've Been Here Before	More Info...
9)	Juke	More Info...
10)	Clockwise	More Info...
11)	Avalanche Alley	More Info...

Album: Whiteout Conditions
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Play Money	More Info...
2)	Whiteout Conditions	More Info...
3)	High Ticket Attractions	More Info...
4)	This Is the World of Theatre	More Info...
5)	Darling Shade	More Info...
6)	Second Sleep	More Info...
7)	Colosseums	More Info...
8)	We've Been Here Before	More Info...
9)	Juke	More Info...
10)	Clockwise	More Info...
11)	Avalanche Alley	More Info...