Day After Day #125: The Laws Have Changed

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

The Laws Have Changed (2003)

Supergroups are an interesting phenomenon. In a lot of cases, they end up being disappointing because taking the best parts of other bands and putting them together in a different band doesn't always work. But there are cases where the different pieces complement each other really well. One good example is the New Pornographers, an indie rock act out of Vancouver whose members have done a lot of incredible work on their own.

Formed in 1997 by Carl (A.C.) Newman, the band has featured a revolving cast of musicians including Neko Case, Dan Bejar, Todd Fancey, Blaine Thurier and John Collins. Case and Bejar notably have gone on to have successful careers, especially Case, who has become an alt-country star. But at the start, it was just relative unknowns Newman (who had been in the band Zumpano) and Bejar (who fronted his own band Destroyer) who wrote the songs, which were decidedly power pop in nature. The band's first album, Mass Romantic, came out in 2000 in Canada and was well-received (it was re-released in 2003 on Matador).

The second New Pornos album was 2003's Electric Version and it came out at the perfect time for an indie power pop act. It was the beginning of the MP3 blog era, where tastemakers were posting indie rock songs on their blogs for fellow music lovers to download and enjoy. It was a great way to learn about new bands that weren't getting much love on radio or MTV and it was where I first found out about the New Pornographers (as well as bands like The Hold Steady). 

The band's stock in trade is super-catchy, hooks galore power pop, which Newman can write in his sleep. "The Laws Have Changed" is the standout among standouts, with Newman and Case trading lead vocals as they sing about...ancient Egypt?

"It was a crime at the time/But the laws, we changed 'em/Though the hero for hire's/Forever the same one/Introducing for the first time/Pharoah on the microphone/Sing 'All Hail'/What'll be revealed today/When we peer into the great unknown/From the line to the throne?"

Honestly, it doesn't really matter what the song's about when it's so damn catchy. 

"Awakened to cheers/After years on the faultline/We are shocked to be here/In the face of the meantime/Pharoah, all you methods have taught me/Is to separate my blood from bone/It will all fail/Feel what I feel today/When we peer into the great unknown/From the line to the throne."

Electric Version wasn't a huge commercial success (although it sold over 113,000 copies as of 2009) but definitely was a critical one, placing on numerous critics polls, including #7 on The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop poll of 2003. The band has released seven more albums in the last 20 years and toured regularly. Meanwhile, Case has released four relatively successful solo albums, Bejar has made eight Destroyer albums and Newman has made three of his own. Bejar has been an occasional contributor to the New Pornographers because of his Destroyer commitments.

The laws may have changed, but what has remained consistent is the quality of the band's output, the most recent of which was 2023's Continue as a Guest.