Send "Times New Viking " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 There's a note on the back cover of Times New Viking's Rip It Off I'd never noticed until the other day. "Mixed & fucked by TNV and Matt Horseshit," it reads, that last bit referring to the Columbus trio's über-pessimistic pal and Psychedelic Horseshit frontdude (with a nod to Columbus noise linchpin Mike Rep Hummel). You pick up on the "fucked" pretty quick when you're listening to Times New Viking; of this newish lo-fi crop, they're the finest melodicists by some margin, melodies they're more than willing to step on in service of the skronk. But there's no such note on Born Again Revisited, the band's fourth, nor is there Rip It Off's urging to "please play loud." Indeed, Born Again Revisited is Times New Viking's highest-fidelity album to date, an intentional playing down of the things that've made them among the leading lights of this nebulous, seemingly dwindling movement. Whatever their motives, Born Again Revisited finds these old pros hanging out in the red, further refining their sound to buck the trends that have built up around them.Because they take such pains to obscure vocals, blow out drums, make one guitar sound like 40, and generally do everything in their power to piss off your speakers, it's easy to miss what sharp, funny, self-deprecating songwriters Times New Viking can be, a failing Born Again Revisited seems hell-bent on solving. Ignoring their obvious gifts as tunesmiths is just a touch harder here, as practically everything's been given a bit more space to itself, the enveloping crunch of Rip It Off replaced with a fizzy, reedy haze that puts a tad more focus on the songs themselves. Although every Times New Viking release to date has sported at least one truly knockout tune, the highs here might be the band's most dizzying yet. ...full text |
| Culturebully |
| I’m sure that some people might consider the fuzzed-out, lo-fi aesthetic of Times New Viking to be rather hipster-kitschy, overly trendy, and altogether unsustainable, but I’m not sure I could ever be friends with such folks. Simply put, I am an uproarious fan of what this outfit does, right down to its irrepressible, unstoppable, punk-flavored work ethic. More importantly, this trio knows exactly where it stands in relation to rock music history—it knows how to pay homage to its stylistic forebears without sounding like a rip-off while being able to serve as a shining beacon of how thoroughly enjoyable dirty garage-pop can be. After delighting critics and fans alike in 2008 with Rip It Off, Times New Viking has returned with a fifteen-track effort entitled Born Again Revisited. The sounds are the same—sludgy, muffled guitars, vocals, and drums, all performed with unabashed rock-n-roll glee—but the group has embraced pop music more vigorously than before, complete with regular organ fills and trills piercing the over-driven guitar muck to create this delightful ’60s-ish flair. Song construction is a bit brighter at times, and the teenaged sneers have been reduced to reveal an attitude that’s equal parts menacing punk glower and impish pop smirk. ...full text |
| Popmatters |
| Guided By Voices , like Times New Viking , are from Ohio. This seems appropriate. They are both known in large part for being exemplars of a militantly lo-fi aesthetic, disregarding slick production values in favour of the sound of pops, hiss, and clicks. Then, as now, the sort of “fidelity above all” ethic ascribed to by many rock and pop bands is still alive and well, and ready to be opposed. And, just as GBV shared college radio time with similarly minded Sebadoh and Papas Fritas, Times New Viking’s partners “in the red” include Wavves, Nodzz, Psychedelic Horseshit, and other stars of the blogosphere. A record collection to be reckoned with looms large (lyrical, musical, and media references point to psychedelia, krautrock, noise music, and New Zealand indiepop avatar’s Flying Nun Records in Times New Viking’s case—they don’t seem to share GBV’s prog love). There is the same sense of tapping into the same gleeful love of melody and sheer power pop (or the power of pop). For these guys, the spiritual seems to reside in a two-minute burst of fuzzy, exultant, beautiful noise. And they were one of the first newbies to plough the terrain, even revitalising lo-fi label Siltbreeze in the process (where their debut, Dig Yourself, was released). ...full text |
Times New Viking lyrics
|
| |||||||||||||
