Times New VikingRip It Off
(01.2008, Matador)
Verdict = I Love It!
It is official, with Times New Viking’s move to Matador records ultra low fidelity production is officially the new black. Seems the FG office building has seen its fare share of purposely ill recorded jams as of late, but don’t let that make you shy away from this little gem because Times New Viking has got-it-going-on! With an ever lengthening Utah winter constantly hurting my poor feelings with its bitter frostiness, Times New Viking feels like sunshine via a gloriously grainy 60’s era 8mm. The wonderful surprise here is that the songs buried underneath all the swirling distortion and feedback would be as lovable without the static filter as with it. This is something of a contrast from most lo-fi pirates who use hip anti-production values as a gimmick to over shadow the fact that their songs actually suck. Yep, Rip It Off is the real deal and something of a rarity for it. So it makes sense that TMV get picked up by a larger indie label. Congrats guys! Drink in the money - you deserve it! In other news, I recently gained a new friend named Tip Toe who is actually a stuffed elephant and he says Rip It Off is the best album so far in 2008, but I still think it’s The Evening Descends. He thinks I’m lame, but whatever, at least my arms aren’t sewn to my stomach! Times New Viking rules! …this review has been lying around for awhile and I am still listening to Rip It Off and I just gained a second wind after watching Tip Toe boogieing to the album. This record is so great, good and grand. It makes me want to take of my shirt and drink lemonade and skateboard on my old driveway (no skateboarding on FG office building premises). I would almost even cuss I like it so much. That’s nuts! And I’m spent.
-Mr. Thistle
Times New Viking - "(My Head) R.I.P. Allegory"
2 comments:
It sounds like this record might be a bad influence on you. Almost cussing? Skateboarding? Whats next, watching Beavis and Butthead?
Its not hard to recognize that these are some great songs hidden underneath layers of fuzz, however, for me, it may be a few too many layers. I'm just not quite sure I have the stamina to scrape away all of the layers of muck and appreciate the musical merits of this album, but then again maybe thats more my problem then theirs.
Post a Comment