Photo by Ebru Yildiz / Composite by Nicole White
5/8/23 – Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St, Cincinnati, OH – Buy Tickets
March 31, 2023—The New Pornographers’ debut record for new label Merge Records, Continue as a Guest, is out now. Stream/purchase the album HERE.
“‘Here inside the TV glow of these bottle episodes,’ this one is another ambivalent story about day-to-day life in the pandemic times,” notes frontperson A.C. Newman. “I was trying to capture a feeling of being stuck, but you don’t mind being stuck. You’re not sure what to call this life you’re leading. Are you happy? You might be. There should be a word for this.”
The band previously shared the record’s first single, “Really Really Light,” alongside a Christian Cerezo-directed video; watch/share it HERE. Most recently they debuted the album tracks “Angelcover” (listen/share HERE) and “Pontius Pilate’s Home Movies” (listen/share HERE).
The album tackles themes of isolation and collapse, following the ambivalence of day-to-day life during the pandemic and the endless pitfalls of living online. But Newman says that Continue as a Guest’s title track also addresses the continually rolling concerns that come with being in a band for so long. “The idea of continuing as a guest felt very apropos to the times,” he explains. “Feeling out of place in culture, in society—not feeling like a part of any zeitgeist, but happy to be separate and living your simple life, your long fade-out. Find your own little nowhere, find some space to fall apart, continue as a guest.”
Stereogum notes in response to the new record that The New Pornographers “make catchy, sophisticated alternate-universe hits,” while Billboard writes that “The New Pornographers have been slinging pristine indie-pop hooks for over two decades now,” and Cool Hunting adds that the record is “a welcome return from [the] indie-pop legends.”
In support of the new album, The New Pornographers are set for a run of North American shows this spring with support from Wild Pink. The dates include two sold out nights at Chicago’s Thalia Hall, as well as further performances at New York’s Brooklyn Steel and Boston’s Royale. See below for a complete list of dates.
Newman began work on Continue as a Guest at his Woodstock, New York home over the course of a year, after the band had just finished touring behind 2019’s In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights. During the writing and recording process, he discovered new lyrical, artistic and sonic approaches experimenting with his own vocal register.
The 10-track record is produced by Newman and features compatriots Neko Case, Kathryn Calder, John Collins, Todd Fancey and Joe Seiders as well as contributions from saxophonist Zach Djanikian and co-writes from Dan Bejar (Destroyer) and Sadie Dupuis (Speedy Ortiz, Sad13).
The New Pornographers have previously released eight studio albums, including their classic debut, Mass Romantic, reissued in 2021 to celebrate the 21st anniversary of its premiere. Their latest, In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights, debuted at #2 on the Billboard Alternative Chart, #6 on the Billboard Rock Chart and #15 on the Billboard Album Chart. It was hailed as “infectious” by NPR, while Rolling Stone praised “the Canadian power-pop crew keeps cranking out songs where the hooks-per-minute ratio is almost unseemly.”
TOUR DATES
April 19—Asheville, NC—Salvage Station*
April 20—Atlanta, GA—Variety Playhouse*
April 21—New Orleans, LA—Tipitina’s*
April 22—Houston, TX—White Oak Music Hall*
April 23—Dallas, TX—Studio at The Factory*
April 25—Austin, TX—Paramount*
April 26—Oklahoma City, OK—Tower Theatre*
April 27—St. Louis, MO—Sheldon Concert Hall*
April 28—Omaha, NE—The Waiting Room*
April 29—Kansas City, MO—The Truman*
April 30—Denver, CO—Gothic Theatre*
May 3—St. Paul, MN—The Fitzgerald*
May 4—Milwaukee, WI—Turner Hall*
May 5—Chicago, IL—Thalia Hall [SOLD OUT]*
May 6—Chicago, IL— Thalia Hall [SOLD OUT]*
May 8—Cincinnati, OH—Memorial Hall*
May 9—Columbus, OH—Newport Music Hall*
May 11—Detroit, MI—El Club [SOLD OUT]*
May 12—Toronto, ON—Danforth*
May 13—Burlington, VT—Higher Ground Ballroom*
May 14—Norwalk, CT— Wall Street Theater*
May 15—Boston, MA—Royale*
May 17—New York, NY—Brooklyn Steel*
May 18—Philadelphia, PA—Union Transfer*
May 19—Washington, DC—9:30 Club [SOLD OUT]*
May 20—Washington, DC—9:30 Club*
May 21—Saxapahaw, NC—Haw River Ballroom*
*with Wild Pink
