LoudLoopPress.com was one of the blogs chosen for Lollapalooza’s Best Local Music Blog contest to write previews for the fest’s 2010 acts, which will also appear on Lollapalooza.com. In our second of three band previews, contributor Andy Kondrat dishes on The New Pornographers.

It pretty much goes without saying that whenever some band gets described as a “supergroup,” your immediate, and appropriate, reaction, is to roll your eyes and brace yourself for the worst. Given that fact, even though The New Pornographers feature A.C. Newman and Neko Case of solo acclaim, Dan Bejar of Destroyer and Swan Lake, and members of other Canadian rock groups such as Limblifter, perhaps we’re better off focusing not on the band’s pedigree, but on the consistently great music The New Pornographers create as one of the best rock bands together today.

Right out of the gate, the Pornographers made huge waves with their 2000 debut album, Mass Romantic, which The Onion A.V. Club ranked as its #21 album of the decade, and Blender called the 24th best indie album of all time. On that record, the band introduced their brand of what is probably best described as indie power-pop, combining driving guitars, keyboards, and crisp drums with well-crafted melodies and perfectly accented harmonies to create an updated AM-radio sing-along sound that almost forces you to drum your hands to the beat. The band isn’t engaging in hyperbole when, speaking of a track on Mass Romantic, their website proclaims that upon the Pornographers forming, the group wrote “the classic ‘Letter From An Occupant,’ and it was on.”

Not content to rest on the laurels of that awesomeness, the band thankfully hasn’t let up or let down since. Including Mass Romantic, the Pornographers have released five full-length albums in the past decade, the last three all cracking the Billboard top 50, with the most recent, 2010’s Together, hitting #18. But don’t go thinking that means the band has gone and lost their indie cred. They’re still on Matador Records (doesn’t hurt that Newman is married to the label’s marketing manager), and even got David Cross to appear in their 2005 music video for the excellent single “Use It.”

For a band that can technically be called a side project for many (if not all) of its members, it’s a compliment to say that nothing the Pornographers have ever done sound like a throw-away track or a half-assed attempt at pushing out another record. The songs are all deftly, yet intricately, written and tightly performed, but unlike some other indie power-pop acts (no offense, Ted Leo…”Me and Mia” still makes the list of top tracks of last decade), The New Pornographers back up their perfectly-crafted songs with an energy and emotion that makes their records more than just an exercise in great form. And continuing in that vein: yes, we’ve probably overused the phrase “power-pop” while discussing the band, but don’t let that term fool you. The New Pornographers write songs with originality and character that put them not just in the upper echelon of pop-rock bands today, but place them firmly at the top of the list of ensemble rock acts of the past decade.

So don’t miss these guys and gals out at Lollapalooza—even if you’ve never heard them before, you can’t help but to instantly fall in love with The New Pornographers come August sixth.

The New Pornographers -- “Crash Years”