In 1997, Carl Newman started a side project called The New Pornographers in Vancouver for fun. The cast of characters included the ridiculous gifts of both Neko Case and Destroyer's Dan Bejar, and an indie-pop collective for the ages was born. Now touring behind their fourth album Challengers, Newman and the other New Pornographers have somehow managed to continue the project in addition to each pursuing their solo aims. The band seems to grow in popularity with each release, and were last here in Austin for a festival gig as part of ACL Fest in 2006. In an interesting twist, the new record surprised some fans by departing a bit from the extreme cheer of previous efforts, with some mid-tempo pieces now mixed in to the proceedings for sonic contrast.

We recently talked to a crackly Carl Newman (his phone was acting up) from a soundcheck in Chicago to discuss writing pop anthems, living in Brooklyn, and being blacklisted from Starbucks.

You guys are headlining Austin's Fun Fun Fun Fest. So let's start by asking if it's nice to play a non-SXSW or ACL Fest gig for once without all the cacophony.

Well, I love every festival in Austin. But this new one looks pretty cool, I'd have to say. There are lots of great bands playing. (Pause) I'm not gonna make some divisive comments about Austin City Limits or South By, if that's what you're going for!

No, no, no.

I think every one of them is AWESOME.

We know you relocated from Vancouver to Brooklyn. What was the reason for the city switch?

It was all for a girl, pretty much. Who I just married a couple of months ago.

So have you enjoyed being a part of the Brooklyn crowd now? Was it a positive change for you?

It's been an awesome change for me, but I don't know if any of it has to do with music. I just love the city, you know? But I haven't started hanging with TV on the Radio or anything.

Let me ask you about the new record, Challengers. The critical response is that this is a 'downbeat' record compared to the others. Do you agree with that assessment or no?

The funny thing is them saying "downbeat compared to other Pornographers records." It's not really downbeat when you just put it on. Next to most records, it's insanely chipper and upbeat! It's just one of those things. A lot of times, people want you to just keep sounding the exact same way. And if you change, they go: "What? Is there something wrong." And no, there's nothing wrong. We just decided to not make the record be hyper.

Is there a narrative theme to this record? It feels like there is, but we can't quite figure it out or find it.

Well, with some of it there is. We're never trying to make a concept album, but there's definitely a few songs that are about meeting Christy and going to New York to be with her. "Challengers" and "Unguided" and "Go Places" are all about me being in New York, and meeting this girl, and falling in love with her - you know, winning the girl. But I don't think there's any larger theme.

That's interesting, because it all sounds more whole to me than the other records, which are more like a collection of power-pop songs.

I like the idea of the album. One of my all time favorites is Love's Forever Changes. That's a collection of great songs on their own, but as a piece, it really feels like a concept album.

One of Dan Bejar's songs on the record, "Myriad Harbor," really interested us. When you guys did that songs, did The Pixies come up at all? Was that intentional?

The Pixies?

Yeah, I think it sounds tremendously like the Pixies. Maybe I'm totally crazy.

(Pause) That's funny - I'd never, ever thought of that. I could see that. Other people have thought it was a Velvet Underground thing, but now that you mention it, I can totally see the Pixies in there. It's kind of a simple, driving song, and the guitar part with the single note thing. (Starts miming the guitar line) So you're not crazy.

Switching gears, a Canadian buddy of mine has always been curious as to whether "It's Only Divine Right" is a reference to Canadian rockers By Divine Right.

No, no - actually it wasn't at all. It wasn't really a reference to anything, but I do remember being a kid and having a board game called Divine Right. I don't know if that's why those words popped into my head. It's basically just about wealthy people who feel they have a divine right, essentially. People that feel they have a divine right to be the most wealthy and the most powerful, you know? I was actually talking about something - oddly enough - in that song.

I was a huge fan of the song "Miracle Drug" from your solo record The Slow Wonder. Is there another solo project on the horizon for you?

Yeah. I've actually just been planning that. I'm planning on spending January doing that, actually. Well, that's my dream. Maybe I'll have something almost done - but who's to say? Maybe I'll even have half of a Pornographers album done as well!

You guys are on tour for a good while though, right?

A lot longer. This leg ends November 5th, then we have a week off, but then we're going to Europe.

When we listen to your albums, whether it's "The Bleeding Heart Show" or "Unguided," there's always a jaw-dropping anthem on the record that's a centerpiece. Do you know when you write those songs that you've just delivered the key song of the album?

It's pretty much all after the fact. When we're working on a record, there's always a song at the beginning that I think is the single. Then it ends up not even making the record, you know? It ends up getting cut. So I never have any perspective until I'm trying to sequence it - then you see what works.

Fair enough. Finally, have you ever had regrets about naming the band New Pornographers?

Not really. Sometimes there are things we don't get because of our name, but what can you do? Like Starbucks said they can never carry our albums because we're called New Pornographers. So, you know, that's just our fate in this hung-up society.

Plus nobody can search for your MP3s at work.

Yes, and we can never have children in our videos!

The New Pornographers will perform at Fun Fun Fun Fest on Saturday, November 3rd at 7:35pm. Tickets are available now via Ticketweb.

[The New Pornographers MySpace]
[The New Pornographers official site]

Image via The New Pornographers website - photographed by Marina Chavez.