Times New Viking – Born Again Revisited (Matador)

Auckland, New Zealand by way of Columbus, Ohio. Yes, Times New Viking sometimes find themselves championing the pop moments of The Clean and they’d like you to walk through a cavern of low fidelity to get to it.

If you can get through the fact that everything sounds like it was recorded onto a Memorex cassette via a shitty Radio Shack boombox, then you’re in for a treat.

Born Again Revisited is an inside joke, as the band has inched ahead sonically somewhat, but they’re essentially revisiting the same one-hundred second pop formula that barked from your speaker for ’08’s Rip It Off.

TNV may have given birth to 15 new songs, but they’re documenting them like they have another dozen or so up their sleeve for tomorrow’s rehearsal.

But any monkey can push the “record” and “play” button at the same time; what sets Times New Viking ahead in the noise relays is how infectious they are underneath the tape hiss.

Besides, Times New Viking recorded Born Again Revisited on VHS.

Whatever oxide they’re laying on, fans can be sure to hear the gender matching vocals blending together with distorted guitar, organ, and drums. It’s terribly infectious and pretty innocuous. There is very little here that hints at what heights Times New Viking can ultimately achieve and even less indication that the band is even concerned with progression.

While that primitive outlook is endearing to an extent, it doesn’t bode well for additional spins. When your perception is that Times New Viking has reached the extent of their creativity, there’s very little that’s required of the listener beyond one album.

So if this happens to be your first aural exposure to Times New Viking’s low-fi romp, you’ll be pleased with the experience. Meanwhile, if you’re already familiar with TNV’s earlier material, or if you’re familiar with the Flying Nun cavestomp that Born Again Revisited tries to match, there’s little chance you’ll find any divine intervention here.

MP3s:

• Times New Viking – “Move To California”

• Times New Viking – “No Time, No Hope”

Video: Times New Viking – “No Time, No Hope”

Video: Times New Viking – “No Time, No Hope” (Acoustic)

Times New Viking: iTunes, Amazon, Insound, wiki