Together is the fifth studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 released by Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 indie rock

Indie rock

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 band The New Pornographers

The New Pornographers

The New Pornographers is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia.-History:The band's first four albums each ranked in the top 40 on The Village Voices Pazz & Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a New Pornographers' album or a...

, consisting of 12 tracks. It was released on May 4, 2010. It debuted at number 18 on the Billboard 200.

The album was recorded in seven studios in British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 and New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. Together is dedicated to the memory of Lynn Calder, who was the mother of keyboardist Kathryn Calder

Kathryn Calder

Kathryn Calder is a Canadian indie rock musician, who performs as a solo artist, and is a member of the band The New Pornographers. She is a former member of Immaculate Machine. Calder started with The New Pornographers by filling in for Neko Case for live performances and was made a permanent...

, and the half sister of Carl Newman

Carl Newman

Allan Carl Newman is a Canadian musician and songwriter. He was a member of the indie rock bands Superconductor and Zumpano in the 1990s. Following the breakup of those bands, he reemerged as the leader of The New Pornographers in 2000....

.

The album features guest appearances by musicians such as Zach Condon of Beirut

Beirut (band)

Beirut is an American band which was originally the solo musical project of Santa Fe native Zachary Francis Condon, and later expanded into a band. The band's first performances were in Wollaston, United Kingdom, in May 2006, to support the release of their debut album, Gulag Orkestar...

, Annie Clark (also known as St. Vincent), Will Sheff

Will Sheff

Will Sheff is the frontman for the Austin, Texas-based indie band Okkervil River . Originally from Meriden, New Hampshire, he is also a founding member and co-songwriter for Shearwater , another Austin band...

 of Okkervil River

Okkervil River

Okkervil River is an indie rock band from Austin, Texas. Formed in 1998, the band takes its name from a short story by Russian author Tatyana Tolstaya. They self-released their first album, Stars Too Small to Use, which led them to the South by Southwest music festival. After recording their first...

, and the horn

Horn (instrument)

The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....

 players from Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are a funk/soul band. They are signed to Daptone Records, where the Dap-Kings are the house band. They are spearheads of a revivalist movement that aims to capture the essence of funk/soul music as it was at its height in the mid-1960s to mid-1970s...

.

The song "Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk" was featured in an early 2011 ad campaign for the Amazon Kindle

Amazon Kindle

The Amazon Kindle is an e-book reader developed by Amazon.com subsidiary Lab126 which uses wireless connectivity to enable users to shop for, download, browse, and read e-books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and other digital media...

.

The song "Moves" was also featured in a commercial for the Hyundai 2012 Accent and a commercial for T-Mobile.

Videos from the album include "Your Hands (Together)", "Crash Years", "Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk", and "Moves".

Release

Matador Records released the song "Your Hands (Together)" in February 2010 as the first sample of the album.

On March 23, the band announced their extensive North American tour in support of the album.

On April 25, the album was released as a digital stream

Streaming media

Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...

 on NPR's website, accessible until the album's May 4 release.

Track listing

(All songs by Carl Newman

Carl Newman

Allan Carl Newman is a Canadian musician and songwriter. He was a member of the indie rock bands Superconductor and Zumpano in the 1990s. Following the breakup of those bands, he reemerged as the leader of The New Pornographers in 2000....

 except where noted)

1. "Moves" – 3:53
2. "Crash Years" – 4:07
3. "Your Hands (Together)" – 3:33
4. "Silver Jenny Dollar" (Dan Bejar
   Dan Bejar
   Daniel Bejar is an independent singer-songwriter from Vancouver renowned for his challenging and often cryptic lyrics and unorthodox vocals featured in many of his songs. Bejar has gained widespread popularity through his musical collaborations with Vancouver indie-rock band The New Pornographers,...
   
   ) – 2:53
5. "Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk" – 3:40
6. "My Shepherd" – 4:36
7. "If You Can't See My Mirrors" (Dan Bejar) – 2:56
8. "Up in the Dark" – 3:10
9. "Valkyrie in the Roller Disco" – 3:32
10. "A Bite Out of My Bed" – 3:13
11. "Daughters of Sorrow" (Dan Bejar) – 3:07
12. "We End Up Together" – 5:47

Vinyl Edition

Side A

1. "Moves" – 3:53
2. "Crash Years" – 4:07
3. "Your Hands (Together)" – 3:33
4. "Silver Jenny Dollar" (Dan Bejar
   Dan Bejar
   Daniel Bejar is an independent singer-songwriter from Vancouver renowned for his challenging and often cryptic lyrics and unorthodox vocals featured in many of his songs. Bejar has gained widespread popularity through his musical collaborations with Vancouver indie-rock band The New Pornographers,...
   
   ) – 2:53
5. "Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk" – 3:40
6. "Valkyrie in the Roller Disco" – 3:32

Side B

1. "My Shepherd" – 4:36
2. "If You Can't See My Mirrors" (Dan Bejar) – 2:56
3. "Up in the Dark" – 3:10
4. "A Bite Out of My Bed" – 3:13
5. "Daughters of Sorrow" (Dan Bejar) – 3:07
6. "We End Up Together" – 5:47

Reception

The album was a longlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize

2010 Polaris Music Prize

The 2010 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 20, 2010. The gala presentation was held at Toronto's Masonic Temple, and was hosted by Grant Lawrence of CBC Radio 3 and Sarah Taylor of MuchMusic....

.