The band has released nine studio albums to date and have received critical acclaim for their use of multiple vocalists and songwriters, as well as for the elements of power pop incorporated into their music.[2]Pitchfork has described the band's sound as "peppy, gleeful, headstrong guitar pop",[3] while Stereogum has retrospectively praised the band's debut album Mass Romantic as "one of the greatest" power pop albums.[1]
The New Pornographers' first four albums each placed in the top 40 on The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a New Pornographers' album or a solo album from one of the band's members ranked in the top 40 on the list each year.[7] In 2007, Blender magazine ranked the New Pornographers' first album, Mass Romantic, the 24th best indie album of all time.[8] In 2009, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the band's second studio album, Electric Version, No. 79 in the "100 Best Albums of the Decade".[9]
All of the New Pornographers' original members were prominent within the Vancouver music scene prior to forming the band. Kathryn Calder, who is also Newman's niece, joined the band in 2005 largely as a live replacement for Neko Case, whose solo career often left her unavailable to perform with the band. Calder's first lead vocals for the band were on 2007's Challengers, singing the lead on "Failsafe" and sharing the lead with Newman on "Adventures in Solitude".
In 2012, the New Pornographers contributed a cover of the song "Think About Me" for the Fleetwood Mac tribute CD called Just Tell Me That You Want Me released by Hear Music. The band's sixth album, Brill Bruisers, was released on August 26, 2014.[11] The album was their highest charting to date in the United States, peaking at #13 on the Billboard200.[12]
On January 26, 2017, the New Pornographers announced their seventh album, Whiteout Conditions, would be released on April 7. The album was preceded by the single "High Ticket Attractions".[13] The album is the first to feature drummer Joe Seiders as a full-time member after replacing drummer Kurt Dahle in mid-2014. It is also the first New Pornographers album to not feature Dan Bejar.[14] Newman, however, went on the record to note that Bejar's absence did not mean he had left the band entirely; telling Stereogum:
he [Bejar] was right in the middle of doing a Destroyer record... [w]hich was something we'd narrowly skirted for our whole career. I'm always amazed that we managed to. Sometimes we avoided Destroyer, sometimes Destroyer avoided us, but eventually we hit at the same time. It wasn't anything weird.[15]
On November 29, 2018, A.C. Newman announced via Twitter that he had begun work on a future New Pornographers album.[16] On August 2, 2019, the band announced via Twitter that it would release its new album, In the Morse Code of Brake Lights, on September 27, and released its first single from the album, "Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile".[17] In a press release for the album, Dan Bejar is described as a "former (and possibly future) member" of the band. The new press photos for the band include vocalist/violinist Simi Stone, officially inducting her into the band after being an auxiliary touring member since 2015.
In July 2021, the band announced a North American tour where they would play Mass Romantic and Twin Cinema in full across simultaneous nights, as well as a reissue of Mass Romantic on vinyl. This announcement also confirmed the return of Bejar to the band, as well as the departure of both Thurier and Stone.[18]
On January 9, 2023, A.C. Newman announced via Twitter that the band had moved to a new label, Merge Records, alongside announcing the band's ninth album Continue as a Guest, a single from the album, "Really Really Light", and a tour starting in April. The band's press photos confirmed Bejar's second departure from the group – although he has a co-writing credit on "Really Really Light".[19][20]
On April 17, 2025, drummer Joe Seiders, who had been with the band since 2014, was arrested in California on child pornography charges, leading to the band to immediately fire him.[21] In November 2025, the band confirmed that they would be continuing, and would tour North America in 2026.[22] In an interview with Rolling Stone, Newman also confirmed that Seiders' drum parts for the band's forthcoming tenth studio album, slated for release in 2026, had been scrapped. Charley Drayton overdubbed new drum parts onto the album.[23] In January 2026, the band officially announced their new album, The Former Site Of, and shared its lead single 'Votive'. It is slated for release on Friday March 27 via Merge.[24]
Twin Cinema: Williams, John (August 31, 2005). "Duff still 'Most Wanted' in Canada". Jam!. Archived from the original on December 19, 2005. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
Challengers: "Albums : Top 100". Jam!. August 26, 2007. Retrieved March 27, 2025.{{cite web}}: |archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)