THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS SHARE Photo Courtesy of The New Pornographers; Album art
March 2, 2026—The New Pornographers today share “Spooky Action,” the latest single from their highly anticipated new album The Former Site Of due March 27 on Merge Records; watch/share the visualizer HERE. “Spooky Action” draws inspiration from the Cassini-Huygens mission, a NASA satellite which orbited Saturn for 13 years before diving into the planet and destroying itself. Frontperson A.C. Newman sings, “And I see the lone propeller, labor of moonlets, then one last turn… to take in Titan, the famous giant, the burning god // Oh have you seen the stray arc of Daphnis, at Keeler’s edge, the way that it’s meant to be seen?”
The album is available for pre-order now via both Merge Records and band’s webstore;
presave/pre-order the album HERE. The record is also available in an exclusive “Mai Tai” LP variant HERE and “Spilled Ink” LP variant HERE. On The Former Site Of, the tenth studio album from the acclaimed supergroup, ten short stories of people at personal and societal extremes are collected as meticulously crafted pop songs. The record was first crafted by Newman in his home studio before being brought to the band, composed of Newman, Kathryn Calder, Neko Case, John Collins and Todd Fancey. The group is joined for the first time by storied session drummer Charley Drayton (Divinyls, The Rolling Stones, Fiona Apple). Josh Wells (Destroyer, Black Mountain) will join as the touring drummer for the band’s upcoming dates in the Spring.
Of the making of the album, Newman notes, “Having time in my studio really opened things up. I don’t like wasting my bandmates’ time, and always felt guilty when I’d give them a song, ask them to do something, then completely change the song and ask them to do it again. Now I can get the skeleton of a song together first—just a couple of elements, the key feeling, really as little as possible—before bringing it to the band and running from there.”
The band will kick off their U.S. tour on April 22 at The Wilbur in Boston with stops at New York’s Webster Hall, Los Angeles’ Teragram Ballroom, Chicago’s The Metro, Washington D.C.’s 9:30 Club and many more, with support from Will Sheff of Okkervil River. Tickets are available now at thenewpornographers.com, full details and a list of dates can be found below. In addition to “Spooky Action” the album features the group’s most recent singles, “Pure Sticker Shock” and “Votive,” subject of acclaim from The New York Times, Pitchfork, AV Club, Stereogum and more. The album’s first single “Ballad Of The Last Payphone” is available as a limited 7-inch vinyl first release; Paste named it one of their Best New Songs, raving that “‘Ballad Of The Last Payphone’ hits a different kind of nerve. Less giddy power-pop, more slow-burn meditation, the track leans into melancholy with acoustic strums, ghostly pedal steel, and vocals that swirl like a memory you can’t quite shake.” Further critical acclaim for The New Pornographers:
“Over the course of their 20-plus-year career, the New Pornographers have often specialized in catchy ambiguity. If leader Carl Newman was just a machine cranking out power-pop tunes, it would get boring. But there’s also a lot of mixed emotions going on under the surface of their studiously nuanced pop-rock formalism—like if Cheap Trick was as quick-witted as Steely Dan, or the Romantics were as thoughtful as R.E.M.”
“pure, blissfully irresistible power pop”
“[The New Pornographers] make catchy, sophisticated alternate-universe hits.”
The New Pornographers have released nine studio albums, including their classic debut, Mass Romantic, reissued in 2021 to celebrate its 21st anniversary. Their latest, 2023’s Continue as a Guest, marked their debut for Merge Records; New York Magazine lauded, “The New Pornographers are a massive unit bursting with unique and intersecting talents…the band’s ninth album serves another helping of their signature dish,” while Brooklyn Vegan named it “one of The New Pornographers’ most lush albums, thick with synthesizers and horns and harmonies…their unique chemistry is as distinct and appealing as ever.”
TRACK LIST
THE FORMER SITE OF
1. Great Princess Story
2. Pure Sticker Shock
3. Ballad Of The Last Payphone
4. Spooky Action
5. Wish You Could See Me I'm Killing It
6. Votive
7. The Wine Remembers The Water
8. Calligraphy
9. Bonus Mai Tais
10. The Former Site Of
TOUR DATES
April 22—Boston, MA—The Wilbur*
April 23—New York, NY—Webster Hall*
April 24—Glenside, PA—Keswick Theatre*
April 25—Rochester, NY—Water Street Music Hall*
April 27—Detroit, MI—El Club*
April 29—Millvale, PA—Mr. Smalls Theatre*
April 30—Cleveland, OH—House of Blues*
May 1—Milwaukee, WI—Turner Hall*
May 2—Minneapolis, MN—The Fitzgerald Theater*
May 3—Chicago, IL—The Metro*
May 5—Englewood, CO—Gothic Theatre*
May 6—Salt Lake City, UT—The Commonwealth Room*
May 8—Seattle, WA—The Showbox*
May 9—Portland, OR—Aladdin Theater*
May 11—San Francisco, CA—The Castro Theatre*
May 12—Los Angeles, CA—Teragram Ballroom*
May 13—Phoenix, AZ—Crescent Ballroom*
May 15—Austin, TX—Mohawk Outside*
May 16—Dallas, TX—The Kessler Theater*
May 17—Baton Rouge, LA—Chelsea's Live*
May 19—Atlanta, GA—Variety Playhouse*
May 20—Saxapahaw, NC—Haw River Ballroom*
May 21—Washington, DC—9:30 Club*
*with Will Sheff (of Okkervil River)
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