Today, The New Pornographers shared a new single called "Angelcover," which arrives ahead of their album Continue as a Guest set for release on March 31. The record, their first on Merge Records, was produced by frontperson A.C. Newman and features bandmates Neko Case, Kathryn Calder, John Collins, Todd Fancey, and Joe Seiders, along with contributions from saxophonist Zach Djanikian and co-writes from former member Dan Bejar (a.k.a. Destroyer) and Sadie Dupuis (a.k.a. Sad13) of Speedy Ortiz. "Angelcover" is the follow-up single to "Really Really Light," which was released back in January.
"Angelcover" finds the group experimenting with a new tone, one that's a bit ominous and taunting. Synths skitter in the background and drums pummel while a piano anxiously pushes forward. Woodwinds of some kind make a jarring appearance, introducing celestial beings: "Angels on the edge of my bed, been there half of the night / Looked around, asked 'You made this hell yourself? Well it’s real nice.'" The angels here don't seem to be the rosy-cheeked, chubby cherubs that might have you saying "Awww." Instead, there's something more daunting at play.
“I pictured this one as a weird little George Saunders–esque sketch, a snapshot,” Newman said. “I found myself a lot more concerned with performance and/or delivery, changing melody and phrasing to get a better performance, less concerned, less precious about the original melody or lyric that I wrote. With that in mind, I had the idea of angels visiting me in the night with the message that ‘melody ain’t got nothing on delivery.’ Kind of a fever dream, where feelings take on their own personality and shape.”
Listen to "Angelcover" below, and pre-order the album here.
