Carl Newman recently stated that work on his third solo album under the AC Newman moniker began with the four words in the title, Shut Down The Streets (out October 9 on Last Gang/Matador). They refer to his first thoughts after his mother’s funeral. “They should’ve shut down the streets.”
And while the project is mellower than Newman’s bright and shiny work with power pop band the New Pornographers, don’t expect the album – or his show at Lee’s Palace on October 21 – to be a sombre affair.
Newman’s a master of killer melodies and uplifting, four-star songcraft. He’s also an excited first-time dad newly committed to “not being full of shit.” Added bonus: big-voiced Porno bandmate Neko Case makes harmonic appearances.