Free at Noon Flashback: The New Pornographers keep the pace brisk and the mood upbeat at World Cafe Live

After releasing their new record In The Morse Code Of Brake Lights in September, The New Pornographers are out on the road, and stopped by World Cafe Live to play Free at Noon before their show at Union Transfer later tonight. Two decades into their career, the long-running Canadian supergroup’s infectious power-pop is as sharp as ever, and it seems like the band only grows stronger with each change in lineup they go through.

The current iteration is an eight-member collective; bandleader A.C. Newman shares lead vocals with Kathryn Calder, while longtime members Dan Bejar and Neko Case are absent from the live lineup, focusing on their other projects. Violinist Simi Stone is the band’s newest addition, adding the lush sound of strings to the new songs.

The New Pornographers treated this afternoon’s sold-out crowd to several tracks off the new album, keeping the pace brisk and the mood upbeat despite the early hour. They started off with the album’s lead single “Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile,” and played several new tunes including “Higher Beams,” “One Kind of Solomon,” and “You Won’t Need Those Where You’re Going” before they went back into their catalogue and pulled out some older hits, like Brill Bruisers‘ title track and Mass Romantic‘s “The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism.”

Check out photos from today’s set below. Tickets are still available for The New Pornographers’ show tonight at Union Transfer. Find more information on the XPN Concert Calendar.