Times New Viking - 'Rip It Off' (Matador) Released 28/04/08

Times New Viking do music for the right reasons. But it’s weird in a world where any old band can get their music sounding polished in a studio, that deliberately making your album unlisteneable is the way to prove it. TNV write pop songs see. But they’re covered in a thick layer of distorted fuzz that hides everything behind a crackly wall of sound. From first track ‘Teen Drama’ through ‘The Wait’ it’s all easy-listening chords and simple rhymes, but from the angle of Neutral Milk Hotel’s ‘On Avery Island’.

Fifth track in; the minute long ‘Drop-Out’ is best and most memorable. Repetition abounds, the chorus is confident and would sound unashamedly sunny but for the noise. But the thing with noise, is that it’s a frickin’ statement. Why d’you think Kurt Cobain turned on the production of Nevermind so violently? Not enough noise. It got Nirvana success, sure, but it wasn’t nearly punk rock enough for a die-hard punk rocker. Look at any noise incorporating writers of pop: Jesus and Mary Chain, early Pavement, bits of the Velvet Underground, the already mentioned Neutral Milk Hotel, heroes of lo-fi Yo La Tengo.

Each and every one of them: masters of a tune. But writing a tune and styling it up commercially for the people, anyone can do that. Make a record that will instantly turn half the population because of the production, that’s ballsy. This is Times New Viking’s first record for Matador, third overall, but they ain’t cleaned up one bit.  ‘The Early 80’s’ sounds like it was recorded with the mics in the bass drum. ‘End Of All Things’ is tuneful shouting with an over-eager monkey on drums, and ‘Mean God’ nicks the melody off Nirvana’s ‘Scoff’ and violates it.

Which is the other thing about TNV - total transparency. A glance at the album title and you know you’ve got kids who know where they’re coming from. And the back of the record reads “mixed and ****ed by TNV and Matt Horseshit” and “TNV play pop songs with guitar keyboards drums” and “please play loud”. See: noise.

These aren’t naïve kids being pushed into the sounds they make, Jared Phillips, Adam Elliott and Beth Murphy know exactly what they’re doing and why, and their take on a fine lineage is admirable.