A.C. Newman - Get Guilty (2009)

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A.C. Newman of The New Pornographers is next in line with a 2009 album leak for his second solo release, Get Guilty. It's been five years since Newman's last album, 2004's The Slow Wonder, so it's safe to assume that most are curious to hear Get Guilty. The album starts off slow at first, with a few forgettable pop tracks, before hitting its stride with the drum taps and hard-hitting acoustic brushes on "Like A Hitman, Like A Dancer." From that point on, Get Guilty delivers a few more worthwhile gems (check out those sharp guitars on "Submarines of Stockhom"), but most of it doesn't really stick with you long after the last track fades out. It's not a bad album, but there's not much substance here. Newman is better when he has other songwriters to work with (ahem, Neko Case and Dan Bejar and etc), but when you take them away, all he has is a collection of twelve pop songs that don't really take him too far. Not a horrible effort, but definitely not an album you'll still be pining for a year from now.