First Thoughts: A.C. Newman's Get Guilty

Much like the Shins' 2007 effort, Wincing the Night Away, A.C. Newman has released an album in Get Guilty that is most likely inferior to his previous solo effort, The Slow Wonder, and his work with the New Pornographers, but that is a step above almost everything else in the genre. And while we are doomed to judge artists in comparison to previous efforts, there is nothing on this record to prevent an above average listening experience, even if the album lacks transcendence.

Despite not hitting the highs of The Slow Wonder (most notably Miracle Drug and Drink for Me then, Babe), Get Guilty finds Newman at his most lyrical. To open the album, he quips "There are maybe ten or twelve things/I could teach you/after that, well I think you're on your own/and that wasn't the opening line/it was the tenth or twelfth." This assertion of a lack of new ideas or wisdom may be true at times, and it does show at points in the album. However, there are moments like on Changeling, wherein Newman summons his best Elvis Costello, where it is also apparent that Newman can still teach us a thing or two we though we knew about power pop. Prophets and Submarines of Stockholm sound like they could have come off of any New Pornographers album (and that is a good thing).

In the end, if you're a fan of the New Pornographers and/or A.C. Newman, this album will be a nice treat. However, for those curious about Newman, I would start with The Slow Wonder, or his work with the New Pornographers (namely Mass Romantic and Electric Version).