The New Pornographers’ A.C. Newman Provides a Refreshing Introspection With New Album “Shut Down The Streets”

By: Eric Freedlander –

When Carl Newman of the New Pornographers changed his name to AC Newman for his solo career, he drastically altered his sonic direction. The sped up guitar licks and intense drumming was replaced with a more mature and sophisticated sound. On Newman’s first album The Slow Wonderer from 2004, he took a step back and focused more on the lyrics then the music. But on his new album Shut Down The Streets, Newman has finally found his niche as the sophisticated singer songwriter we all believed he’d become.

Throughout Shut Down The Streets, Newman reflects on his long tenure in the music industry. He sings about the growing pains of forming sound that is distinguishable. He goes on to explore the themes of death and struggle with outside influences such as music, and how he’s matured in his 44 years. It appears as if Newman is content with where he has arrived in creating Shut Down The Streets. That is to say, he went through this entire struggle throughout his tenure, but you get the sense that by the end of the album, Newman has become the man he’s always hoped to be.

There’s a strong sense of emotional conviction throughout the album, which greatly stemmed from the birth of his son, and the death of his mother. The songs have a serene autobiographical intimacy as Newman provides listeners a glimpse into his soul. But while Newman sheds any sense of opaqueness, he doesn’t want sympathy. He wants the listener to be able to relate to a universal experience. It’s an interesting way to go about writing an album, since a lot of bands and artists will sing in a ‘be happy for me’ or a ‘boo is me’ stance when they sing about their personal lives.

The anthem of the album is the first track “I’m Not Talking” in which Newman describes the anxiety we all experience when something good happens in our lives. The song’s chorus defines the album; “until there is a reason to think I have a shot at redemption, until then I’m not talking”. Thus insinuating, that until things stay amazing for the rest of his life, he isn’t about to start taking anything in his life for granted. This stance is later echoed in the song “Strings” where Newman sings “my reputation’s for opening doors and selling arts and crafts from the door” thus suggesting, he’s always doing good deeds in an attempt to show he’s not taking life for granted.

In Shut Down The Streets, we find Newman opening up about his life in ways he never had on either his earlier solo work or with Superconductor, Zumpano or The New Pornographers. Musically, Newman focuses his sound on late psychedelic riffs, while also using the synthesizer power pop sounds he has become synonymous with. Despite appearing on the surface to have finally reached an ideal sound, Newman hasn’t done enough to convince us that AC and Carl are two different characters in his arsenal. While the bar was set high and the album does have its strong points, the execution falls short.

Essential Tracks: “I’m Not Talking,” “Strings,” and “Hostages.”