Indie rock is a crowded field. Gone are the days where some wistful guitar strums and strung-out vocals are enough to stand out — in today’s scene, you need to offer something unique.
Someone should tell The New Pornographers.
Their latest album “Brill Bruisers” sounds like a castaway from the early 2000’s, but isn’t hooky or deep enough to account for its stolid datedness. In fact, their actual album from the early 2000’s, “Twin Cinema,” succeeds everywhere that “Brill Bruisers” fails, in both catchiness and personality.
Which isn’t to say “Brill Bruisers” is devoid of merit — it never falls below competence and has a decent number of fun and interesting songs, but they just don’t compare to contemporary competitors, let alone The New Pornographers’ existing discography.
“Brill Bruisers,” the album’s namesake song, is everything that's wrong with the album. The backing vocals offer up a catchy refrain, but nothing else is inspired. The electronic bleats fall with a thud and the lyrics touch on the same revolution vagaries as every other lazy indie rock band. "Now the grenade / And it's seconds before the bang / Wanted to keep / Much of that leader of your gang" brings up some hazy imagery, but it'd sure be nice if it meant anything.
All in all, the lyrics aren’t pulling double-duty to make up for the album’s issues. “I wanted you quite often / In that I wanted you all of the time” is the Jim Belushi of lyrics — it shows up to work on time and does what’s expected of it, but no one will be impressed. These types of workmanlike lines dominate the album, leaving little room for exciting themes or turns of phrase.
There are standout songs, but they feel like castaways in the bland mush of the album as a whole. “Champions of Red Wine” has a downbeat refrain perfect for staring wistfully off into the distance, and “Fantasy Fools” is New Pornographers on their game, catchy and bumpy and nicely intricate. “Spidyr” plays at being moody, and stands as a pleasant change of pace from the album’s default upbeat potluck of sounds.
The New Pornographers aren’t lacking in skill or experience, but what “Brill Bruisers” is really missing is personality. Ideally, the album would rise above agreeable, but instead it sits at a base pleasantness level and doesn’t waver from there. Die-hard New Pornographers fans should enjoy a less impressive offering from their band, but the album doesn’t offer anything unique enough to capture new fans.