Times New Viking: Rip It Off

Label: Matador

Rip It Off, the latest from Times New Viking, opens with “Teen Drama,” anchored by a rolling, sentimental keyboard line and dual vocals, each element defiantly blown-out. It’s disorienting at first to hear a band this defiantly lo-fi in 2008. Soon, though, it comes together – the sweetness in contrast with the clatter, the hiss and crackle wrestling nascent anthems. It’s the same sort of blend that Bis’s early work pulled off with vigor, and the frenzied energy and changing tempos heard here may very well make Times New Viking’s third album feel every bit as essential. And once you’ve taken in the sometimes cheeky song titles (“Times New Viking Vs. Yo La Tengo”, “Relevant: Now”), it’s worth it to note that Times New Viking can pull off a fine slow burn (“The Wait”, “Drop-Out”) just as well as they can rage. (Tobias)