#3 The New Pornographers - Q's Top 20 Albums of 2014

Our countdown of the Top 20 albums of 2014 continues with Brill Bruisers by The New Pornographers. It's a record that is, in a word, joyous -- and it's from a band that has spent over a decade crafting meticulous sing-along pop songs with multi-part harmonies, chugging guitars and double-take lyrics.

• Related: The New Pornographers mount defiant return with Brill Bruisers (note: this post features archival video)

In recent years many had thought they started to mellow, to look more inward instead of out ... but that reflection was only a moment in their maturation. On this record, the party is back on for this one-of-a-kind Canadian supergroup. 

Over the past couple of years Neko Case, Dan Bejar and Carl Newman have seen amazing success as solo artists, leading some to think that success might cause the group to bring their B material here. On the contrary, this record finds all members buying in with perhaps their strongest and most immediate material to date. 

From the triumphant title track, to the combative 80s throwback War on the East Coast to the arpeggio thunder of Backstairs, there simply isn't a bad song on the record.