A.C. Newman's debut, as the next best thing to a new New Pornagraphers record, has been getting some pretty impressive hype. I was thinking about trying to review it for Stylus, but upon hearing it a few times, I find I have very little to say about it (although I'm sure someone else will). Most of the record just sounds like Oh, Inverted World to me, and one of the reasons I love Chutes Too Narrow so fiercely is because it was such a quantum leap above the Shins' first album, which I found mostly boring.

Of course, I realise that comparing The Slow Wonder to Oh, Inverted World will be a glowing recommendation for some, and that's fine - Newman is a good songwriter and performer, even if his stuff isn't quite my style. But I wish he had more songs like "The Town Halo". It's got more teeth than anything else on The Slow Wonder, and is the closest any of it gets to being as exciting as, say, "The Body Says No". The song is anchored by a stirring, dark string refrain that is repeated inexorably during the verses. When Newman yelps out the title phrase over insistent piano, it's a thrilling moment. It has a drive that seems missing from much of the album, and while that langour occasionally works in Newman's favour ("Drink To Me Babe, Then" in particular), a better balance between it and songs like "The Town Halo" would have served The Slow Wonder better.