Last week we tried to rattle together a marketing-minded faux beef between Canadian indie-rock supergroups the New Pornographers and Broken Social Scene, who both released new albums yesterday. The effort, though, went for naught: Despite plenty of opportunity from either camp, the release date for the NP’s Together and BSS’s Forgiveness Rock Record came without a shot fired. Why? In yesterday’s Vancouver Sun, NP’s front man, Carl Newman, blames it on laziness.
When I found out our record was coming out the same day as Broken Social Scene I wanted to call Kevin Drew and shoot a little promo video, where it’s like the two of us just facing each other on a windy day and then we embrace. We embrace to the strains of “Wake Up” by Arcade Fire. That would be like a dual ad for both of our albums. But I’m too lazy. I was distracted.
A dual ad! Exactly! May have been better to separate out the stare-down video and the reconciliation video — you know, create some dramatic tension — but otherwise, right idea, Carl. Ah, what could have been. Hopefully, the next time two structurally and sonically similar bands from the same part of the world put albums out on the same day, they won’t be so blasé about it.
The New Pornographers, so far apart, come Together [Vancouver Sun via Pitchfork]
