The New Pornographers: Challengers

Label: Matador

With this, their fourth full-length packed with power-pop for the thinking person, the New Pornographers prove that despite the demands of solo careers and side projects, magic still happens when you can get them all in a room together. This effort is overall slower and more melodic, with fewer of the moments of frenetic genius that marked some of their best songs (“Sing Me Spanish Techno,” “All for Swinging You Around). Instead, we’ve got beautifully harmonized choruses (the guaranteed-to-get-stuck-in-your-head opener “My Rights Versus Yours”) and a couple of surprisingly touching tracks (the bittersweet title track and the sparsely melancholy “Adventures in Solitude”). Its cheeky call-and-response makes “Myriad Harbour” a soon-to-be classic that teases the listener, volleying between the lackadaisical verses and the near fever pitch of the chorus. Challengers is a more adult effort overall, but one that shows grown-ups can remember how to have fun too. (Kaitlin)