Times New Viking

All Music Guide:

Much like Guided by Voices, Times New Viking are a noisy, lo-fi indie rock band from Ohio who made the leap from the long-running indie Siltbreeze Records to the higher-profile Matador label. Unlike Guided by Voices, whose hissy, distortion-heavy sound masked a knack for traditional '60s-influenced pop hooks and surreal lyrical wordplay, this Columbus-based trio favors a more punk-derived sound and minimalist, deliberately repetitive lyrics.

Times New Viking (the band name being an obscure and meaningless pun on the name of the popular typeface Times New Roman) formed in Columbus in 2004, when art school students Adam Elliott, Beth Murphy, and Jared Phillips spontaneously decided to form a band while hanging out in a local rock club. Murphy and Phillips, who had no musical training between them, took over keyboards and guitar respectively, while the marginally more skilled Elliott played drums. (Elliott and Murphy both sing, often together though rarely in harmony.) The band's debut album, Dig Yourself, was released on Siltbreeze in 2005, followed by Times New Viking Present the Paisley Reich in 2007. The CD version of the latter record included the six tracks from a pair of limited-edition vinyl-only EPs released prior to the album.

Generally positive reviews and a consistent touring ethic, which resulted in a stint opening for Yo La Tengo and performances at indie cred-building festivals like Coachella and SXSW, effectively raised the band's profile. Accordingly, they made the jump from Siltbreeze to Matador for 2008's Rip It Off (featuring 16 breathless tracks in less than 31 minutes), produced by Ohio noise rock godfather Mike Hummel of Mike Rep & the Quotas. Born Again Revisited arrived one year later. After switching over to Merge and cleaning up their sound just a touch (and even going so far as to record in a studio for the first time), the trio released its fifth album, Dancer Equired, in April of 2011.

Wikipedia:

Times New Viking is a lo-fi indie rock band from Columbus, Ohio. The lineup consists of guitarist Jared Phillips, drummer Adam Elliott, and Beth Murphy on keyboards. Murphy and Elliott share vocal duties. Their name, "Times New Viking," is a play on the popular typeface Times New Roman. They have released five albums: 2005's Dig Yourself, 2007's Present the Paisley Reich, and 2008's Rip It Off, which NME gave an 8/10, and 2009's Born Again Revisited. Rip it Off reached No. 17 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. The band was formerly signed to Siltbreeze and Matador Records. In January 2011, they announced that their fifth album, Dancer Equired!, will be released in April via Merge in the US, Wichita in Europe, Pop Frenzy in Australia and Big Nothing in Japan.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).

Music[edit]

Times New Viking have been noted for their lo-fi aesthetic, recorded to cassette, which drew comparisons to Guided by Voices' early material. This also meant they were considered part of the "shitgaze" genre, alongside contemporaries such as Psychedelic Horseshit and Eat Skull. Notable features of their songs include shouted vocals, distorted drums and loud, trebly guitars, in addition to tape hiss and brevity. Their lyrics are generally sloganistic and feature pop culture references.

With 2009's Born Again Revisited, the band recorded the album to VHS and commented the recording fidelity had increased by 25%. In 2010, the group released a 7" single available on their tours opening for Guided by Voices. The single, featuring "No Room to Live", displayed cleaner production, a result of the band utilising proper recording studios for the first time – namely Musicol Recording studio and Columbus Discount Recordings. It has been reported by Merge Records that Dancer Equired! will also feature this production style.