Get Guilty | A.C. Newman
My review of A.C. Newman’s Get Guilty ran today in the Boston Phoenix. I don’t understand Carl Newman’s strategy. The only difference between his solo output now and his work with the New Pornographers is that he occasionally lets other people sing on the latter. I would assume that a side project would be used to explore new ideas or experiment a bit, shake up the formula. Get Guilty does nothing of the kind; it’s a retread of everything you’ve already heard from Newman, except much more tired and with less passion. How long will people keep buying the same songs? I don’t think for much longer.
2 Comments Add your own
1. Thomas P | January 19th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Hmm, another offering of delicious, perfect pop treats that in my opinion lack neither passion nor energy but celebrate the joy of creating and listening to music. The “yell-o” chorus of The Heartbreak Rides, the staccato pinched guitars in Submarine, and the fuzzed-out bass explosion of All My Days — I find this a return to form and as long as he keeps gems like this coming, I’ll keep buying.
2. mpb | January 20th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Thomas, I’m glad you enjoyed it. I agree that “The Heartbreak Rides” is a high point. I just felt like I knew what was coming next far too often on Get Guilty and I like to be surprised.
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