The New Pornographers, Josh Ritter, Paul Weller, Tonic, Walter Schreifels and Greg Laswell

A.C. Newman should be studied by science in an attempt to discover the secret of his dual creative successes as the primary spark plug for The New Pornographers and as a solo artist. The Porns' fifth album, 'Together,' continues the band's unparalleled string of studio excellence while furthering the concrete-instrument-and-arrangement approach of 2007's baroque Pop and inexplicably misunderstood 'Challengers.'