The solo album can be a thorny conceit, often an excuse for embarrassing confessionals or self-indulgent forays into other musical styles dub reggae, the dreaded "jazz odyssey". No such worries arise with The Slow Wonder, the first solo outing from Carl Newman, chief songwriter for lauded Canadian indie super-group the New Pornographers and Zumpano before that. Taking the name A. C. Newman for this disc, he continues with what he does best: crafting insanely catchy pop. The album opens with the harmony-filled, new wave crunch of "Miracle Drug," and one could be forgiven for mistaking The Slow Wonder for a New Pornographers disc. The differences, however, are soon revealed. Unlike that band's nervy, crammed-with-hooks approach, Newman's songs here, such as "Drink to Me, Babe, Then" and "Come Crash," are allowed to stretch out and breathe. On "The Cloud Prayer," a delicate, baroque arrangement shimmers, and the orchestrations of "The Town Halo" and "35 in the Shade" evoke shades of the Move and ELO. There is no shortage of straight-up pop, either -- "On the Table," "The Battle for Straight Time," and "Secretarial" are all instantly hummable. Carl Newman's songs are welcome in any form, and clocking in at a breathless 36 minutes, The Slow Wonder definitely leaves you wanting more.

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