A.C. Newman :: "I'm Not Talking"

A.C. Newman has softened considerably since his abrasively poppy solo record, 2004's The Slow Wonder and his early New Pornographer's concoctions. For illustration, and this is an arbitrary comparison to be sure, cast  "All For Swinging You Around" from Electric Vision against  "Valkyrie At The Roller Disco" from most recent Pornographer's LP, Together. The recent vision is substantially less electric, full of keys, organs and mandolin, Newman turning toward the folk sensibilities of his band mate Neko Case's solo efforts. Latest single, "I'm Not Talking," the first from Newman's forthcoming third solo LP, Shut Down The Streets trends in the same direction. It is a heart breaker, unsurprising from a song writer who turned something as simple as Christine crashing on your floor into an emotional genocide, but, "I'm Not Talking" is largely a soft sell duet between Newman and Case - what separates this from being a New Pornographers song existing in name only. The letdown, always the soul of Newman's inverted pathos, is still in play, an existential promise of silence until such a time as the narrator can be redeemed, making this a softer punch but a punch all the same.

Listen :: A.C. Newman - "I'm Not Talking"