The New Pornographers and Family

Every New Pornographers presentation is met with unashamed, wide-eyed glee by indie pop fans. And with good reason: Mass Romantic set the scene with intertwined choruses and whirring keyboards, while Electric Version got louder and stickier, and Twin Cinema unfolded like moving pictures where the sun is constantly shining and every car's top is down.

More of a collective than a standardized group, the New Pornographers don't simply split into solo projects; they assume entirely new, very appropriate roles: the country-noir of Neko Case, like the haunting lovechild of Nancy Sinatra and Johnny Cash; Carl Newman's hook-heavy and deeply personal alter ego, A.C. Newman; and the dramatic rock operas of Destroyer.

Our northern neighbors' unlikeliest rock hero is Vancouver's Carl Newman. Before fronting the New Pornographers, he plundered the pop cues of the '60s and '70s with Zumpano. Then there's his fellow Pornographers: Todd Fancey, who spins songs like an AM dial of phantom frequencies, and John Collins, whose Evaporators project is all piping hot organs and cheeky surf guitars.

When you walk into the ever-expanding world of the New Pornographers, one thing is certain: potent power pop. It's the summary of six songwriters with voices so different yet so similar, conducted by the ultimate hooks craftsman, Carl Newman. Our Complete List presents every side of the group's story, from the Technicolor push-and-pull of their collaborations to each member's distinct, challenging takes on country, rock of the hard- and soft-candy variety, and songs that grandstand like Broadway openings.