Whiteout Conditions
by The New Pornographers
  • Record Label: Concord
  • Release Date: Apr 7, 2017
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
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  1. Q Magazine
    Apr 12, 2017
    60
    The band seem to be pushing their hi-spec power-indie as far as it can go. [Jun 2017, p.110]
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  2. Record Collector
    Apr 5, 2017
    60
    They have that whole male/female duality down to a tee as well. It’s just that a few more sonic peaks and troughs wouldn’t go amiss.
  3. The A.V. Club
    Apr 7, 2017
    58
    In the immediate, Whiteout Conditions might leave you a little cold.
  5. Consequence
    Apr 4, 2017
    58
    Some of the songs feel too sterile and Pornos-by-numbers; others are derivative in a way the band rarely is. Overall, it would have been more successful as a five-song mini-LP than as a full-length.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 31 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 31
  3. Negative: 1 out of 31
  1. jpowell28
    Apr 10, 2017
    7
    As a longtime fan of the New Pornographers, I buy and savor each of their albums the day they come out. However, this is the first album I'veAs a longtime fan of the New Pornographers, I buy and savor each of their albums the day they come out. However, this is the first album I've been disappointed with. There are a few strong tracks, especially the title cut, which is one of their best. The opening track "Play Money" is also fantastic. However, there is a real sameness throughout that becomes a little grating towards the end. There are also some experimental tracks that I give them credit for but don't work for me. I do have to confess the lack of Dan Bejar creates a hole - his songs always add a little more variety to the mix. AC Newman is a fantastic songwriter and I will be playing some of these cuts on a regular basis, but I do feel a little let down.… Full Review »
  2. gtroyp
    Apr 10, 2017
    9
    The problem with success in today's music world, is that it's never enough. The hipster mantra of "I liked their first album best" isThe problem with success in today's music world, is that it's never enough. The hipster mantra of "I liked their first album best" is everyone's response to every album ever. The new one never matches up, until the next release; and the reviews of previous albums contained in every new review show how good (or bad) the last record REALLY was. Let's skip all that. This is a great album. It ranks among the Pornographers best, and that is high praise. Do we miss Dan's quirky contributions, sure we do, but that doesn't ruin anything. There are tracks (Darling Shade, Juke) that SHOULD make every setlist the Pornos play from now on, and tracks that WILL (Play Money, High Ticket Attractions) — and that is becoming quite a setlist. Let's be honest, if you have a Carl Newman penned song with Neko Case singing lead, that's going to be a damn fine pop song. What has always made The New Pornographers great has been amazing harmonies, quirky yet still hooky melodies, and great sing along bits scattered like chocolate chips in a cookie. All that is here, and it sounds like a good chocolate chip cookie tastes: warm, a little gooey, sweet with just a touch of bitter. If you want to complain it's not as good as before, just remember that the rest of the cookie selection is often stale and boring. Any New Pornographers release deserves some praise, and this album deserves quite a bit.… Full Review »
  3. CriticoDubioso
    Apr 10, 2017
    5
    The New Pornographers are a band that has lost their engine.

    Kurt Dahle is one of the most imaginative drummers in the business - and Kurt    The New Pornographers are a band that has lost their engine.

    Kurt Dahle is one of the most imaginative drummers in the business - and Kurt is gone. This is a bigger loss overall than Dan Bejar's departure. At his best, Dahle matches Keith Moon for pumping color, surprise, and humor into his drumming. I actually think Kurt's talent is wasted in the bludgeon-rock of Age of Electric (his long-ago, and current band), while he was perfect for elevating TNPs to something exceptionally intelligent and interesting.

    Joe Seiders as successor to Kurt Dahle is the rough equivalent of what Kenney Jones was as successor to Keith Moon: a sane, solid timekeeper who cannot, or is unwilling to, match the inventiveness and power of his predecessor. I'd go further, and say that Joe is simply the wrong drummer for TNPs, but considering the repetition and synth/dance flavor rife through the arrangements in Whiteout, I think he's exactly the sort of drummer that Carl Newman wants for his latest music.

    When Kurt quit/was thrown out of TNP, I was hoping that Jon Wurster had the time and inclination to join them. But after hearing the new album, I'm not sure how an inventive, propulsive rock drummer like Wurster could have improved Whiteout, really. Not without a different selection of songs. This album makes it seem as though after all these years, Carl has decided to excise TNP's thunderous alt rock in a bid for commercial success. And he just might find it with this turn... but he's gonna lose many of his long-term fans. Neko Case singing over a drum machine? Yikes. *There's* something we never needed to hear.

    Indeed for me, this is the first disposable Pornographers album. Carl seems determined to mutate the Pornographers from a kickass, melodic rock band into an echo of an 80s pop/dance band like (eek!) New Order, or Depeche Mode ... and that just makes me sad.    … Full Review »
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