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Avg: 3.5 (575 ratings)
- Date Released: January 20, 2009
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Label: Matador
More sunny mind games from a power pop master
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We Say...
Saying that A.C. Newman trades in a particularly cerebral school of near-power-pop is like saying (back in, oh I dunno, summer '08) that Barack Obama was a highly touted Senatorial newbie with aspirations to higher office: correct on the facts, but all wrong on emotional context. Newman writes pop songs like David Foster Wallace and Dave Eggers write fiction: exhilarating tours de force that split the difference between highly intellectual cartwheeling and playful, devil-may-care insouciance, catchy ditties that trade in a certain form of psychological gamesmanship even as your toes are tapping out a ship-to-shore S.O.S.
Newman's second solo release under his given name, Get Guilty, is yet another chapter in his career-long Book of Dreams: a dozen tracks loaded for bear with the sort of verbal hijinks and high, hard hooks that fellow travelers such as the Shins, Broken West and Dr. Dog (hell, why not add the entirety of the Elephant Six posse while we're at it?) have traded in. Sometimes this takes the form of serial-killer melodies (the album's first single, "The Palace at 4 A.M.," is that classic smiling-to-keep-from-dying "sunny hook, meet cloudy conscience" that forms the basis of about 98% of the best pop music). At other times, it's about the wordplay buried in the hummability ("California had some casual bedlam/something in the basic swing of things led them to victimless crimes," Newman sings affably on the otherwise cutting ode to L.A. "The Heartbreak Rides"). And then there's the occasional flashes of craft — aided by Superchunk's/Mountain Goats' Jon Wurster and solo artist Nicole Atkins — that turn a song like "There are Maybe Ten or Twelve" from a magisterial, thematic march into pure pop magic.
But that's just the thing, isn't it? The best artists are those that make their particular form of genius look like a casual sundown walk through the park. And while it's obvious that Newman cares very deeply about such old-fashioned notions as "craft" and "quality," at the end of the day, you just let the pure Posies pop of "All of My Days & All of My Days Off" or the wonder of a tune like "Prophets" carry you away on the glistening glissando of gliding guitar, like honey dripping lazily from perfectly-browned breakfast toast. And when you stop to think about it, that — like McCartney's Ram, Elliott Smith's Either/Or or Todd Rundgren's Something/Anything? — should be more than enough to get us through the next twelve months. -
They Say...
Carl Newman has been behind so many excellent bands and albums that by 2009 it has become increasingly easy to take a new album for granted, to mistake his steady craftsmanship for complacency. While it's true that Get Guilty doesn't break any new ground, you'd be wrong to think that Newman is treading water or just cranking out albums because it's his job. The album is full of songs that would have made the cut for the New Pornographers' last couple albums -- in fact, some (like "The Heartbreak Rides" and "Submarines of Stockholm") would have bested everything there. At the risk of sounding heretical, at this point in time the A.C. Newman records are superior to the New Pornographers albums. Sure, the NPs make bright and shiny indie rock albums that sound great on the radio, but they also have acquired a layer of gloss and bombast that makes it hard to truly embrace their sound. On his solo albums, Newman is more relaxed with the arrangements; many of the songs forgo the insistent rhythms of the NPs for a more stripped-down and immediate feel. While there is less experimentation here than on Slow Wonder, it's still nice to hear Newman thinking small(er). He's also more focused in the songwriting department when he's on his own, forsaking the often manic twists and turns of a typical NP song in favor of a more direct approach. That's not to say that Newman has suddenly become a confessional singer/songwriter; it's just that he appears more confident in writing songs that simply sound good. It may not seem like a big distinction but it really is, and it helps give this record (like it did with Slow Wonder) a feeling of peace and warmth that wasn't really part of Newman's game until very recently. Of course, all that being said, Get Guilty is still a Carl Newman record -- so you get all the things you've come to expect from him: insanely catchy songs, loopy and indecipherable lyrics, and first-rate female backing vocals (here provided by Kori Gardner of Mates of State and Nicole Atkins). Call him a journeyman indie rocker if you like, take him for granted if you must, just don't write him off. Anyone who can craft a record that sounds and feels as good as Get Guilty deserves to keep on making records forever.
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| 01. |  |
There Are Maybe Ten Or Twelve |
2:41 |
|
| 02. | |
The Heartbreak Rides |
4:09 |
|
| 03. | |
Like A Hitman, Like A Dancer |
3:41 |
|
| 04. | |
Prophets |
2:59 |
|
| 05. | |
Submarines Of Stockholm |
3:55 |
|
| 06. | |
Thunderbolts |
3:46 |
|
| 07. | |
The Palace At 4 a.m. |
3:23 |
|
| 08. | |
The Changeling (Get Guilty) |
3:19 |
|
| 09. | |
Elemental |
3:28 |
|
| 10. | |
Young Atlantis |
3:49 |
|
| 11. | |
The Collected Works |
3:10 |
|
| 12. | |
All Of My Days And All Of My Days Off |
3:52 |
|
12 Total Tracks, 42:12 Total Length
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Credits
- Phil Palazzolo - Bass // Phil Palazzolo - Producer // Phil Palazzolo - Engineer // Phil Palazzolo - Mixing // Phil Palazzolo - Musician // Brendan Ryan - Piano // Brendan Ryan - Trumpet // Brendan Ryan - Accordion // Brendan Ryan - Piano (Electric) // Brendan Ryan - Musician // John Noll - Vocal Engineer // Jon Wurster - Percussion // Jon Wurster - Drums // Jon Wurster - Musician // Paula Henderson - Sax (Baritone) // Paula Henderson - Musician // Jason Hammel - Vocals // Jason Hammel - Musician // A.C. Newman - Bass // A.C. Newman - Guitar // A.C. Newman - Mandolin // A.C. Newman - Percussion // A.C. Newman - Composer // A.C. Newman - Keyboards // A.C. Newman - Vocals // A.C. Newman - Melodion // A.C. Newman - Producer // A.C. Newman - Mixing Assistant // A.C. Newman - Musician // Ian Larkin - Vocal Engineer // Charles Burst - Percussion // Charles Burst - Drums // Charles Burst - Engineer // Charles Burst - Musician // Nicole Atkins - Vocals // Nicole Atkins - Musician // Tara Szczygielski - Vocals // Tara Szczygielski - Musician // Josh Clark - Bass // Josh Clark - Engineer // Josh Clark - Musician // Heveron Smith, Eric - Trombone // Heveron Smith, Eric - Engineer // Heveron Smith, Eric - Musician // Caleb Beyers - Artwork // J.B. Flatt - Recorder // J.B. Flatt - Musician // Pamela Quinn - Flute // Pamela Quinn - Musician
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