AC Newman Shuts Down The Streets

By Eric Hehr in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 30, 2012 3:20PM

AC Newman. Photo by Noah Kalina.

Carl Newman is best known as the front man for the New Pornographers, one of the most beloved and enduring indie acts of the past fifteen years. But Newman also has a budding solo discography apart from New Pornographers, releasing his familiar brand of clever pop tunes underneath the moniker A.C. Newman.

Newman recently released his third solo album, Shut Down the Streets. While the album is reminiscent of Newman’s previous work with New Pornographers (it’s hard to see the tongue-in-cheek song titles on Shut Down the Streets such as “There’s Money in New Wave” and not harken back to the days of the New Pornographer’s “Sing Me Spanish Techno”), Shut Down The Streets explores a more somber side of Newman’s songwriting; trading his signature hyper-caffeinated pop sound for a more decaf blend of singer/songwriter susceptibility. The thematic content of the album was influenced by two profound events in Newman’s life: the death of his mother and the birth of his son. The earnest tonality of the album is underscored by a kind of lush 1970’s production that at times reverts back to the cozy, analog folk-pop feel of Jim Croce and Harry Chapin—a far cry from the electrified frenzy of New Pornographers 2000 debut album, Mass Romantic.

Shut Down The Streets never rocks as hard 2005’s New Pornographers release Twin Cinema, and the production is never as dense as 2007’s Challengers, but Shut Down The Streets still contains the kind of endearing lyrical quirkiness that Newman has come to be known for, even while dealing with issues as heavy as life and death. But this time around, Newman is not all clever word play and bouncy hooks. Shut Down The Streets is Newman’s most mature effort to date: a no frills, solemn album that relies solely on Newman’s gift for song craftsmanship - an album by a songwriter for songwriters, absent of production gimmicks or “cutesy” one-liners.

Is this change from electric to acoustic, agitated prose to straightforward simplicity, a sign that Newman is growing older? Well, yes it is. In a recent interview with The Village Voice, the 44-year-old musician spoke about the inevitability of aging:

“I wasn't trying to make an EDM record…last year I was in L.A. and I was having dinner with Aimee Mann and Michael Penn and I was talking with Aimee, like, there's gotta be a way to make records and embrace the fact that you're not young anymore. So many bands are just clinging...like Green Day is still spiking their hair and with all the eyeliner, and I thought, would it be so terrible to be like, 'Hey I'm 50 and I'm making music'? I think my version of surrendering to getting older is going to be starting a jam band. Watch for it”

Newman is also the first to admit that he’s growing older, and that his age will inevitably have an effect on the music he produces:

“The reason some of my music has become more mellow and introspective has been a direct reaction to things that are in my life. When I have a tragedy in my life I'm not going to write about it in the form of [Twin Cinema's] 'Sing Me Spanish Techno' -- that's just stupid and disrespectful of the things you're going through. I think my music has followed where my life has gone”.

For someone as musically revered as Newman—a man who has penned some of the most paramount indie pop songs of all time—he isn’t interested in cashing in on his past endeavors for the sake of commercial prosperity, nor is he concerned with satisfying fans with the same old rehashed sound that he received critical acclaim for on previous albums. While many other bands who got their start in the early 2000’s have struggled through numerous albums, recycling the same sonic formula that brought their careers to fruition (The Strokes, The Hives, and Interpol to name a few), Newman has no interest in exploiting past sonic templates already covered by New Pornographers. In this sense, Newman has gained more of a musical edge in his later years. While he may be growing older, he is also growing more ambitious, determined to explore new musical territory in a candidly honest way.

Shut Down The Streets may be Newman’s most mature effort, but this dad isn't making "dad-rock" yet. Perhaps in a few years Newman will partner up with the likes of Jeff Tweedy and begin that jam band he mentioned in The Village Voice interview, but till then it's safe to say that Newman hasn’t lost his edge, nor has he lost his gift for rock solid songwriting.

A.C Newman plays tonight, Oct. 30, at The Empty Bottle , 1035 N Western, 9:30 pm. $15, 21+