The New Pornographers The Former Site Of
Released Mar 27, 2026 Merge Records
Established consensus 8 professional reviews Updated Oct 1, 2026
Broadly positive consensus
The New Pornographers's The Former Site Of reframes the band's signature power-pop instincts into a quietly reflective suite that contemplates grief, mortality, and collective identity.
How ChoruScore worksCritics' Top Tracks
The songs critics returned to most
Bonus Mai Tais
1 critic mention
“The tune offers a painfully recognizable balance of happiness mixed with fear and sadness” — Paste Magazine
The Former Site Of
2 critic mentions
“And album closer, the title track, does its level best to offer some transcendence amongst the tragedy.” — Paste Magazine
Votive
3 critic mentions
“the bleakness remains central: "I’m just trying to keep the lights on...or has it already gone out?” — Paste Magazine
Full critic consensus
The New Pornographers's The Former Site Of reframes the band's signature power-pop instincts into a quietly reflective suite that contemplates grief, mortality, and collective identity. Across professional reviews, critics note a turn toward muted instrumentation and electro-balladry that favors ambivalence and bittersweet melancholy over the old stadium choruses, and the consensus suggests the record rewards patient listening rather than instant hooks.
Critics agree the album earned favorable notice, posting a 79.63/100 consensus score across 8 professional reviews. Reviewers consistently praise tracks that balance sorrow with resilience: “Votive” is frequently singled out for its anxious propulsion and taut drumming, while “Wish You Could See Me I’m Killing It” and the title cut “The Former Site Of” register as plaintive centerpieces where AC Newman’s couplets and wistful lines land with quiet impact. Far Out and Paste highlight “Great Princess Story” and “Bonus Mai Tais” as mood-setting openers and emotional touchstones; AllMusic additionally points to “Spooky Action” as a radiant chorus moment amid the record's restraint.
While some critics miss the exuberant highs of earlier albums, the prevailing professional reviews frame The Former Site Of as a mature, emotionally coherent collection that explores isolation, grief and recovery without theatrics. The critical consensus suggests that, for those asking whether The Former Site Of is good, it stands as a worthy, nuanced chapter in The New Pornographers' catalog and a record best appreciated for its subtlety and lyrical depth.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Great Princess Story
Pure Sticker Shock
Ballad of the Last Payphone
Spooky Action
Wish You Could See Me I’m Killing It
Votive
Wine Remembers the Water
Calligraphy
Bonus Mai Tais
The Former Site Of
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 8 critics who reviewed this album
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Critic's Take
In a voice that has grown quieter and more reflective, The New Pornographers deliver a record where the best tracks on The Former Site Of are intent on feeling rather than exhilaration. The opener “Great Princess Story” sets the tone with mandolin and minor-key harmonies, and songs like “Wish You Could See Me I’m Killing It” and “Bonus Mai Tais” emerge as the album’s clearest emotional touchstones. Alex McLevy’s sentences linger on image and mood, praising Newman’s ruminative songwriting while admitting this is not the rousing pop the band once specialized in.
Key Points
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"Bonus Mai Tais" is the emotional centerpiece because it balances happiness and dagger-like grief with vivid imagery.
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The album's core strength is Newman’s ruminative songwriting that trades explosive hooks for mood, elegy, and restrained catharsis.
Themes
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Critic's Take
The New Pornographers on The Former Site Of feel like a seasoned collective still able to tug at heartstrings, their knack for bittersweet power pop intact. Tom Phelan singles out “Votive” as a standout, its line about trying to keep the lights on emblematic of the record's ruminative tenderness. He also highlights the title track's lyric “I wish you could see me / I’m killing it” as an instance of AC Newman’s knack for wistful impact. These best tracks on The Former Site Of underline how the band turns personal turmoil into stirring, unshowy shimmer that comforts more than it dazzles.
Key Points
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The reviewer names "Votive" the standout for its emotionally direct lyric and resonant delivery.
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The album's core strengths are bittersweet, ruminative songwriting and comforting, unshowy electro-pop craftsmanship.
Themes
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Critic's Take
The New Pornographers’ The Former Site Of is a quiet, introspective record that favors patience over the power of earlier highs, and the reviewer's ear is drawn to a few key tracks. “Wish You Could See Me I’m Killing It” registers as one of the more melancholic cuts, its mandolin-and-synth palette underpinning a quiet desperation. “Votive” arrives as an anxious, spikier sibling with notable drumming that punctuates the tension. The review highlights “Spooky Action” as a standout, praising Newman’s couplets and its radiant chorus as a central moment on the album.
Key Points
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Spooky Action is the best song for its radiant chorus and Newman’s dazzling couplets.
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The album’s core strength is its restrained, atmospheric approach that favors patience over power.