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The New Pornographers Craft Hooks With Heart

Pardon the double negative, but The New Pornographers simply can't not write hooks. Since forming in Vancouver in 1997, the band has released 8 full-length albums of glittering pop-rock earworms. The group's latest, 2019's In the Morse Code of Brake Lights, is no exception. And like past albums, once your ears adjust to the big, bright sounds and begin to absorb all the details, you get a sense of the band's depth. With thoughtful, incisive lyrics from frontman and songwriter Carl Newman, these are hooks that really mean something.

In this session, you'll hear The New Pornographers, minus member Neko Case, perform live. Plus, join me for a conversation with Carl Newman and Kathryn Calder to hear stories about the songs on the album, what it's like to get nervous on stage and why there are so many car references in this batch of songs. Start your engines and listen in the player above.

Copyright 2021 XPN. To see more, visit XPN.

Raina Douris, an award-winning radio personality from Toronto, Ontario, comes to World Cafe from the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), where she was host and writer for the daily live, national morning program Mornings on CBC Music. She was also involved with Canada's highest music honors: hosting the Polaris Music Prize Gala from 2017 to 2019, as well as serving on the jury for both that award and the Juno Awards. Douris has also served as guest host and interviewer for various CBC Music and CBC Radio programs, and red carpet host and interviewer for the Juno Awards and Canadian Country Music Association Awards, as well as a panelist for such renowned CBC programs as Metro Morning, q and CBC News.
Since 2017, John Myers has been the producer of NPR's World Cafe, which is produced by WXPN at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Previously he spent about eight years working on the other side of Philly at WHYY as a producer on the staff of Fresh Air with Terry Gross. John was also a member of the team of public radio veterans recruited to develop original programming for Audible and has worked extensively as a freelance producer. His portfolio includes work for the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, The Association for Public Art and the radio documentary, Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio. He's taught radio production to preschoolers and college students and, in the late 90's, spent a couple of years traveling around the country as a roadie for the rock band Huffamoose.

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