Away from the lusty twang of her country albums, Neko Case leads a double life singing with Vancouver’s The New Pornographers. The contrast could hardly be greater as she abandons Patsy Cline impersonations to sound more like Debbie Harry. The songs of chief Pornographer Carl Newman surge with contagious power pop energy and wit in which obvious reference points are Blondie, Cheap Trick and The Beach Boys at their more surreal (“Testament To Youth In Verse” is more “Vegetables” than “Good Vibrations”). There’s nothing profound about Electric Version. But classic pop has seldom sounded so much fun.
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