By By Samantha Nwaoshai

Because side projects tend to be hit or miss, they are a highly underrated creative expression. A significant portion of indie-rock is side projects, and such is the case with The New Pornographers. Members Carl Newman (A.C. Newman) of Zumpano, John Collins of The Evaporators, Dan Bejar of Destroyer and vocalist Neko Case, are like Canada’s indie Justice League. You know that nothing but good can come from such a coalition of talent and music genius.

Their latest release, Twin Cinema, is no exception. It can only be described in one word: remarkable. It’s everything an indie-pop record should be-catchy and upbeat, but not so catchy and upbeat it alienates the listener. The title track is a great example of this. The following track, “The Bones Of An Idol,” is not as up-tempo or catchy, but doesn’t drone on like a traditional ballad. Case’s vocals stand out, making you want to hear her voice more often.

Vocally, Newman cannot hold a candle to Case. However, where he lacks vocally, he more than makes up for in song writing, as he wrote 10 of the tracks (Bajar wrote the other three). Take for instance the song “Sing Me Spanish Techno.” The lyrics, “Travelling at Godspeed / over the hills and trails / I have refused my call / pushin’ my lazy sails / Into the blue flame / I want to crash here right now / The hourglass spills its sand / if only to punish you,” are as deep as they get for a pop song. Bajar’s song writing, though different than Newman’s, is still good, but this time it’s more cohesive with the rest of the record.

It’s not all name brand talent that stands out on Twin Cinema. Case and Newman do not outshine The New Pornographers. In every song you can’t help but notice Kurt Dahle’s drumming. For example, in “Jackie, Dressed In Cobras,” while you hear the chorus “on a train devouring the land / there’s a kid going insane over her man / insane over her man / insane over her,” Dahle’s intense drumming is right there on every beat. In fact, it is hard to picture “Jackie, Dressed In Cobras” without it. Just like Dahle, Todd Fancy’s guitar stands out in every song.

While it is beyond doubt that Twin Cinema is a stellar piece of music, it is not a perfect album. The flaw in Twin Cinema is that it doesn’t stray too far from where Electric Version took us. However, since the album is so good, you don’t really feel that Twin Cinema is Electric Version 2, Electric Boog-a-loo. Instead, the listener feels they are listening to a really good album and that’s what counts.

The Chronicle gives “Twin Cinema” by The New Pornographers four 1/2 out of five stars.