Could an album that features Annie Clark, Zach Condon from Beirut and the horn players from Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings possible fail? The record buying public didn’t think so, as the New Pornographers’ Together has been their highest charting album to date, although the critical reception was decidedly lukewarm.
The band brought “Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk” to David Letterman’s show last night (June 30), which is an awkwardly structured mid-paced stomper that, like too many of the tracks on Together, veers a little too close to the “pleasant but unremarkable” notch on the taste-o-meter.
Not sure why you think the album has received weak critical reception. Seems like the album has been pretty well received. It's got a 70 on metacritic, which is pretty good. And even there it seems like most of the prominent reviewers (Prefix, AV Club, Allmusic, Pitchf--k) liked it, whereas the negative reviews were from publications I've not heard of.