Mass Romantic
Mass Romantic | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 21, 2000 | |||
Recorded | 1998–2000 | |||
Genre | Indie rock, power pop | |||
Length | 40:54 | |||
Label | Mint | |||
Producer | John Collins, David Carswell | |||
The New Pornographers chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Mass Romantic | ||||
|
Mass Romantic is the debut studio album by
The album failed to chart in Canada or the United States, but the group had a sold-out tour, due to very positive reviews. It received a score of 87 from Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics.[2]
Production
Mass Romantic was recorded over the course of almost three years.
Production on the album was difficult.
The songs on the album were written by A.C. Newman and Destroyer frontman Dan Bejar. Newman recalled that he thought "'How could we lose?' You could just take some interesting elements and put them together. Even taking myself out of the picture, when I looked at the band I just thought, 'This band's got to be great.' I thought, 'Okay, everyone can hate my songs, they can dismiss them.' But I have the most confidence in Dan's songs because I'm totally outside of him, looking in. I'm just a fan of him."[4]
The song "Breakin' the Law" was taken from Destroyer's first album We'll Build Them a Golden Bridge.[4] The group vocals at the end of "Breakin' the Law" are credited to the Camp Northstar Kids' Chorus, a reference to the Canadian comedy film Meatballs.[4] The chorus is actually every member of the band singing. Newman stated, "I like the fact that people think that it's a kids' group ... We made ourselves sound like a giant group, but we ended up sounding like little kids. I love the fact that in the Rolling Stone review they mention the chorus of kids. I just think it's great that people actually believe that, because it's such a fucking ridiculous thing for a band to do."[4]
Style
Tim DiGravina of
The album's lyrics have been described as "ridiculous and melodramatic as they are witty".[5]
Release
Mass Romantic was released originally on November 21, 2000 by
The New Pornographers went on their first tour to promote the album. The tour presented problems, including throat damage, broken-down buses, and having to take expensive cab rides.[4] A.C. Newman spoke positively about the tour, stating, "There's been fairly good crowds, but the shows haven't been that crazy. They've been getting better ... We're not really a party band. I hope people can party. We give them the music! Isn't that enough?"[4] The tour sold out.[4]
Reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 87/100[2] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Alternative Press | 4/5[10] |
Entertainment Weekly | A[11] |
NME | 6/10[12] |
Now | 5/5[13] |
Pitchfork | 8.4/10[5] |
Rolling Stone | [7] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [14] |
Spin | 8/10[15] |
The Village Voice | A−[16] |
Mass Romantic was well received in the band's native Canada, where it won a
Douglas Wolk of Rolling Stone described Mass Romantic as "a striking power-pop album, forty staggeringly catchy minutes of four-part harmonies and Wall of Sound production, exploding with energy and joy",[7] while the Alternative Press called the album a "masterful reproduction of underground power pop ca. 1979, complete with cheesy synths and slashing guitar leads".[10] Tim Caligiuri of The Austin Chronicle stated that "Mass Romantic is the type of album nobody makes anymore. It's an intricate and brightly colored gem, filled with sing-along melodies and sounds that shouldn't work together yet do."[6] In a mixed assessment, Q referred to Mass Romantic as "charmingly poppy", but nonetheless an "erratic affair".[19] Tyler Martin of Stylus Magazine felt that "too many misdirected ideas weigh this album down".[20]
The album charted in several best of the year lists from various critics. Pitchfork rated it the ninth best album of 2001, stating, "Energetic, smooth, and masterfully executed, Mass Romantic is the catchiest thing to come out in ages."[21] The site later placed Mass Romantic at number 91 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.[22] Magnet magazine included the album in its "20 Best Albums of 2001" list.[23] In The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll for 2001, the album placed at number seventeen.[24] In December 2007, Blender listed Mass Romantic as the 24th best indie rock album of all time. It is the second-highest Canadian album on the list behind Arcade Fire's Funeral, which was selected as the 6th best.[3]
Track listing
All songs written and sung by Carl Newman, except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Mass Romantic" | Neko Case, Newman | 4:11 | |
2. | "The Fake Headlines" | 2:45 | ||
3. | "The Slow Descent into Alcoholism" | 3:56 | ||
4. | "Mystery Hours" | 3:11 | ||
5. | "Jackie" | Dan Bejar | Bejar | 2:46 |
6. | "Letter from an Occupant" | Case | 3:46 | |
7. | "To Wild Homes" | Bejar, Newman | Bejar, Case, Newman | 3:33 |
8. | "The Body Says No" | 3:56 | ||
9. | "Execution Day" | Bejar | Bejar, Newman | 2:59 |
10. | "Centre for Holy Wars" | 3:06 | ||
11. | "The Mary Martin Show" | 3:19 | ||
12. | "Breakin' the Law" | Bejar | Bejar, Newman | 3:27 |
Total length: | 40:54 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
13. | "The End of Medicine" | 2:34 | |
14. | "When I Was a Baby" | Sam Coomes | 2:26 |
Personnel
- Bill Anderson – photography
- Dan Bejar – vocals, multi-instruments, korg synthesizer, pipe organ, wurlitzer
- David Carswell – producer
- Neko Case – vocals
- Davidian Chorley – saxophone (tracks 8, 11)
- John Collins – bass, producer, engineer
- Kurt Dahle – drums, vocals
- Carl Newman – vocals, korg synthesizer, pipe organ, wurlitzer
- Shannon Oksanen – photography
- Fisher Rose – drums (tracks 4, 6, 9, 12)[25]
- Blaine Thurier – keyboards
References
- ^ a b c d e f g DiGravina, Tim. "Mass Romantic – The New Pornographers". AllMusic. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ a b c "Reviews for Mass Romantic by The New Pornographers". Metacritic. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ a b "The 100 Greatest Indie-Rock Albums Ever — #30 to #21". Blender. November 27, 2007. Archived from the original on April 9, 2008. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ^ a b c Juzwiak, Richard M. (March 31, 2001). "The New Pornographers: Mass Romantic". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ^ a b c Wolk, Douglas (March 1, 2001). "The New Pornographers: Mass Romantic". Rolling Stone: 54. Archived from the original on August 30, 2001. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
- ^ "New Pornographers Mass Romantic CD". cduniverse.com. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ^ "Letter From an Occupant > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ^ a b "The New Pornographers: Mass Romantic". Alternative Press (152): 82. March 2001.
- ^ a b Morgan, Laura (February 23, 2001). "Mass Romantic". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ "The New Pornographers: Mass Romantic". NME: 30. April 27, 2002.
- ^ Perlich, Tim (October 19, 2000). "Discs". Now. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
- ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Weisbard, Eric (April 2001). "The New Pornographers: Mass Romantic / The Corn Sisters: The Other Women". Spin. 17 (4): 156–58. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (April 3, 2001). "Consumer Guide: Vibrators". The Village Voice. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- JunoAwards.ca. Archived from the originalon July 23, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
- ^ Mann, James. "The New Pornographers: Mass Romantic". PopMatters. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ "The New Pornographers: Mass Romantic". Q (189): 119. April 2002.
- ^ Martin, Tyler (November 2, 2003). "The New Pornographers – Mass Romantic – Review". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ "Top 20 Albums of 2001". Pitchfork. January 1, 2002. Archived from the original on September 22, 2009. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 100–51". Pitchfork. September 30, 2009. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
- ^ "20 Best Albums of 2001". Magnet: 57. January 2002.
- ^ "The 2001 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. February 12, 2002. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2009.
- ^ DeVille, Chris (December 9, 2021). "The Story Behind Every Song On The New Pornographers' Debut Album Mass Romantic". Stereogum. Retrieved 10 December 2021.