Vancouver-based guitarist and singer/songwriter Allan Carl Newman broke into the Canadian music scene in the early '90s as a member of alternative rock/grunge outfit Superconductor. A longer stint with power pop group Zumpano followed in the mid-'90s, resulting in two well-received albums, Look What the Rookie Did and Goin' Through Changes, but it wasn't until Newman formed the New Pornographers in 2000 that his hook-filled guitar pop anthems became staples of the crowded 21st century indie rock scene. The Newman-led collective released a string of popular records over the next decade. Peppered in between were numerous solo projects from bandmembers Neko Case, Dan Bejar (Destroyer), and Newman himself, who released his solo debut, Slow Wonder, in 2004 and Get Guilty in 2009, both of which arrived via Matador Records. In 2012, Newman delivered Shut Down the Streets, which showcased a layered, often acoustic, baroque and folk-pop sound. The following year Newman provided the score for the Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan-starring romantic comedy What If. ~ James Christopher Monger