The New Pornographers return with "Ballad of the Last Payphone"

Last month, The New Pornographers surprised fans with the vinyl-first release of their first full band tracks since 2023 – "Ballad of the Last Payphone" and "Ego Death For Beginners" – via A.C. Newman’s Substack, Ballad of a New Pornographer. Following the limited 7-inch, the band has now digitally releaseed the A-side, "Ballad of the Last Payphone", with an accompanying video animated by Michael Arthur.

A.C. Newman had the following to say on the themes behind "Ballad of the Last Payphone": “This song was inspired by a Raymond Carver story called “Fat,” and tells the story of a person visiting the last payphone in NYC where it currently sits, in the Museum of the City of New York. The narrator doesn't know why they are so fascinated by it, but to us it should be obvious. Obvious to me, at least.”