The New Pornographers: The Bitter End 2026

This  FUV Live session is also available as a podcast and on YouTube, "FUV Live Sessions." We're elevating WFUV's long history of live sessions and interviews via a podcast that you can find on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Podcasts. New episodes drop every Monday.

The New Pornographers' tenth album, The Former Site Of, unfolds like a collection of vivid short stories and characters: a man buying flowers for a gravestone; a reflection on the last payphone in New York; and the journey of a NASA satellite. Each narrative is rendered with striking clarity.

Frontman A.C. Newman has said that he aimed to write as straightforwardly as possible, though in my conversation with him, he downplayed his own songwriting abilities. In reality, Newman's thoughtful, curious nature is exactly what makes these songs resonate so deeply.

That same thoughtfulness extends to Newman's process, as he’s careful not to waste his bandmates’ time, refining his ideas before bringing them to the group for the album: Kathryn Calder, Neko Case, John Collins, and Todd Fancey.

Calder joined Newman for this live session, along with drummer Adam Minkoff and Lilah Larson on bass, mandolin and guitar.

The Former Site Of is an album with expansive, intricate arrangements, where even the smallest sonic choices feel deliberate. During this FUV Live session, recorded at The Bitter End, the conversation wandered from the overlooked plight of the mandolin to the elusive idea of a “tasteful” amount of fuzz — fitting topics for a band that thrives on balancing precision with playful exploration.

[Recorded: 3/16/26; Engineered by Jim O'Hara. Produced by Meghan Suma. Videographers: Olivia Iannaccone, Bella Lipayon, Gina Slavin, and Lily Crean.]