Allan Carl Newman (born April 14, 1968) is a Canadian musician and singer-songwriter. He was a member of the

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

bands Superconductor and

Zumpano Zumpano was a Canadian power pop group in the 1990s. The band, whose music style resembled such contemporaries as Sloan and The Super Friendz, consisted of vocalist/guitarist Carl Newman, keyboardist Michael Ledwidge, bassist Stefan Niemann, ...

in the 1990s. Following the breakup of those bands, he reemerged as the leader of

the New Pornographers The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock band, formed in 1997 in Vancouver. Presented as a musical collective and supergroup of singer-songwriters and musicians from multiple projects, the band currently consists of Carl Newman (vocals, ...

in 2000, a band who have enjoyed both commercial and critical success. In 2004, Newman launched his solo career, performing as A. C. Newman. He has stated that he chose "A. C." for his solo career because "it sounded like a pseudonym, but it's not a pseudonym."

Superconductor and Zumpano

Newman began his musical career in the 1990s as a member of the

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

/pop group Superconductor. During the 90s, Newman often filled in on second guitar with metal band Nemesis Gypsy. After a brief stay, he joined the Vancouver-based pop group

. The band released two albums with Newman in the mid-1990s, '' Look What the Rookie Did'' and '' Goin' Through Changes'', both of which received favorable reviews. Though Zumpano never officially announced their breakup, they have not recorded any new material since the 90s. Between the demise of Zumpano and the debut of the New Pornographers, Newman had an acting role in his future New Pornographers bandmate Blaine Thurier's microbudget film '' Low Self-Esteem Girl''.

The New Pornographers

Newman is a founding member of the successful Vancouver-based

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

supergroup

. The band has released nine full-length albums since 2000, all of which received favorable reviews. In 2007, ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...

'' ranked the group's debut album, ''

Mass Romantic ''Mass Romantic'' is the debut studio album by Canadian indie rock supergroup the New Pornographers. Produced by David Carswell and band bassist John Collins, it was released on Mint Records on November 21, 2000. The album was three years in the ...

'', the 24th best indie album of all time. Newman is the band's main songwriter and vocalist.

Solo career

In 2004, Newman debuted as A.C. Newman the solo artist. '' The Slow Wonder'', his first album, was well received. His musical sensibilities as a solo musician have been compared to those of

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for the Rock music, rock band the Kinks, which he led, with his younger brother Dave Davies, Dave pro ...

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal overdub experi ...

, and

Ben Folds Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. After playing in several small independent bands throughout the late 80s and into the early 90s, Folds came to prominence as the f ...

. Newman is married to Christy Simpson, formerly the marketing manager at

Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City ap ...

, the New Pornographers' previous record label. They have a son, born in 2012. Newman's second solo album, titled ''

Get Guilty ''Get Guilty'' is the second solo studio album by Canadian musician A. C. Newman. It was released on January 20, 2009 via Last Gang Records, Last Gang/Matador Records. Recording sessions took place at Seaside Lounge in Brooklyn during the summer of ...

'', was released on Matador Records on January 20, 2009. "Prophets" was featured in the end of the fourth season finale of ''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014, follows main char ...

''. In October 2012, Newman's third album was released: '' Shut Down The Streets''. Recorded in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, New York, Kingston. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The popula ...

, the album features contributions from New Pornographers colleague

Neko Case Neko Richelle Case ( ; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case's singing voice has been described by contemporaries and critics as a "flamethrower", "a pow ...

. Newman has said that ''Shut Down The Streets'' "is all about birth, death, happiness and sadness, chronicling a time in my life where all those things had to learn to coexist side by side."AC Newman: Shut Down the Streets – Album Preview
Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved on 2012-11-02. In June 2013, the album was longlisted for the

2013 Polaris Music Prize The 2013 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 23, 2013

. In November 2012, Newman appeared in the music video alongside television personality Whip Nicken for "I'm Not Talking". The video was shot in Los Angeles and directed by the General Assembly. Newman composed the score for '' The F Word'', directed by

Michael Dowse Michael Dowse (born April 19, 1973) is a Canadian director. Life and career Born in London, Ontario, to Irish parents, he was trained as a film editor. His first full-length movie, ''FUBAR'' was shot on a digital camera with a tiny budget, but w ...

. Newman contributed a cover of the

Bill Fay William Fay (9 September 1943 – 22 February 2025) was an English singer-songwriter. His early recordings were released by Deram, but following the release of his second album in 1971, Fay was dropped by the label. His work enjoyed a growing ...

song, "Be Not So Fearful," to the soundtrack album, ''The Walking Dead Original Soundtrack – Volume 2'', released in March 2014.

Discography

Albums

* '' The Slow Wonder'' (2004) * ''

'' (2009) No. 99 US * '' Shut Down the Streets'' (2012)

Compilations

*'' Music from the OC: Mix 4'' – (Track ''"On The Table"'') (2005 ·

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

WEA The Wea were a Miami–Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as being either closely related to the Miami tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami. Today, the descendants of th ...

)

with The New Pornographers

*''

'' (2000) *''

Electric Version ''Electric Version'' is the second studio album by Canadian indie rock group The New Pornographers. It was released on Matador Records and Mint Records on May 6, 2003. ''Electric Version'' placed at number seven in ''The Village Voice''s Pazz & J ...

'' (2003) *''

Twin Cinema ''Twin Cinema'' is the third studio album by Canadian indie rock group The New Pornographers. It was released on August 23, 2005. The album was shortlisted for the 2006 Polaris Music Prize. As of 2010 it has sold 138,000 copies in US and 20,000 ...

'' (2005) *'' Challengers'' (2007) *''

Together ''ToGetHer'' (, aka Superstar Express) is a 2009 Taiwanese drama starring Jiro Wang of Fahrenheit, Rainie Yang and George Hu. It was produced by Comic International Productions ( 可米國際影視事業股份有限公司) and directed by Linzi ...

'' (2010) *''

Brill Bruisers ''Brill Bruisers'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian indie rock band the New Pornographers. It was released on August 26, 2014 and debuted at number 13 on the ''Billboard'' 200. In describing the album, A.C. Newman called it "a celebration r ...

'' (2014) *'' Whiteout Conditions'' (2017) *'' In the Morse Code of Brake Lights'' (2019) *'' Continue as a Guest'' (2023)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, A. C. 1968 births Living people Canadian male singers Canadian rock guitarists Canadian male guitarists Canadian rock singers Canadian male songwriters Canadian indie rock musicians Canadian record producers Singers from Vancouver Writers from Vancouver The New Pornographers members 20th-century Canadian songwriters 21st-century Canadian songwriters