Concrete Playground

The New Pornographers tread a categorical line between rock and roll's grungy distortion and pop pleasure — basically they're contemporary pop musicians in the true form. So if we were to categorise theirs as pop music, let's distinguish it from the fake, plastic kind. With rich harmonies and vocal layers, there's no chance of an auto-tuner being tucked into their luggage, there's no lip-syncing and they're certainly using real instruments — you won't find anything more electrical than a guitar in their set up.

After releasing album number five, Together, they're touring Australia and New Zealand; 1) because who wouldn't want to take a holiday while you work and 2) because we love them and can't wait to see them perform their new album live, in the flesh. Sure, you'll tap your foot while listening to them while you work but when you're stretching your lungs to sing along to them in the car, there's no denying how good this pop really is. Seeing them in the flesh will only make you wish they were playing two dates instead of one — make sure you don't miss it.