Electric Version

Unfortunately, Neko case (the fantastic girl singer) only sings lead on a couple of tracks but Carl Newman delivers some strong vocal performances as the bands frontman.
The band's overall sound is still very keyboard heavy and full of energetic drum fills, but there are also subtle uses of strings and saxophones if you listen out.
The lyrics sound interesting as well, its a shame they didn't print them.
Electric Version is a great pop album and deserves to be played loud.
Enjoy.

These impressions hold true for the whole album. The chirpy pop sounds generated by these candian guys and gals is uplifting and always manages to cheer me up.

5/5 A happy, pop rock album suitible for everyone!

The New Pornographers pull on past forms of music- Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks,Todd Rundgren, Cheap Trick, The Go Gos, Blondie,Sparks,70s Aerosmith&Kiss,New Wave etc- in an inventive manner- having more in common with Wondermints, Apples in Stereo, Stephen Merritt,late period St Etienne, spin-off bands like Golden Smog & The Minus 5 & Ultra Vivid Scene. A whole lot more inventive than the lazyarsed retro displayed by The Storks, Darkness, Kings of Leon and whoever else has a moustauche/is being hyped by the NME as the cure for Nirvana this week...

Sadly Case features more in a backing vocal mode- though the rest of the singers aquit themselves wonderfully; it is fair to say that EV is not as great as Mass Romantic (yet...) It's more of the same, slightly expanded- which is fine by me! Chump Change has a wonderful melodica, great strings & "Ooh/Ooh" backing vocals. All For Swinging You Around is the one at the moment, an ideal track for a jukebox in heaven, Neko Case comes to the fore on this blissed out take on Knack-territory- if this track doesn't fill you with giddy euphoria and make you want to move to pop heaven straight away- YOU ARE DEAD. Listening to a track like this, you wonder why this lot aren't the biggest band in the world (then again, people like me are secretly happy that such secrets are for a select few...)

The opening title track has not dissimilar drums to that of Bandages by fellow/more popular Canadians Hot Hot Heat, I'm assuming the new wave was big in Canada! I still have hope/time for pop songs- not most of the crap that gets in the chart (though many Neptunes/Timbaland/Kylie-related fayre does it for me!)- but those tight, wonderfully constructed things that make you feel like you're living in a moment, sounding like the past and future at the same time in a succinct present. From Blown Speakers has a great lead vocal from Carl (I think...) with great keyboards and the sublime Ms Case on backing vocals...

This whole album is another pop treat, from the Adam&the Ants/Glitter Band feel of New Face of Zero & One, to the sideways Stranglersisms of It's Only Divine Right to the lovely closing track Miss Teen Wordpower. Electric Version does expand on Mass Romantic, the production is much more complex and comes out the more you listen to it. OK, Neko only sings lead vocals on one track, but the harmonic vocals go far beyond that debut album. This is the album that should be playing in the perfect bar, its euphoric qualities akin to the joys of hedonism. Can't wait for the next album- fingers crossed it's the double album that will make them global superstars (or something...)