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November 09, 2009
Record Review: Times New Viking - Born Again Revisited
Four albums in, and there’s no easy move for Times New Viking to make. Mopping up the murk of their previous three releases for a crisper, more mature sound might actually be the most ordinary, clichéd path available. “Noiseniks go symphonic pop!” is a story that’s been told at least since The Ramones were trading skin- and hair-care tips with Phil Spector. That said, the brash, bratty, bloody-red art-punk sound they’ve wallowed in to date has established a fairly low basement ceiling for continued growth within its confines. Not really an inspired threading of this particular needle, Born Again Revisited has a title that telegraphs its intent to boldly re-cover old ground. Last year’s triumphant Rip it Off hinted at a band on the verge of harnessing their craptastic fidelity as an instrument itself, blowing swoony melodies out to the point where they became purely emotional smears. In direct comparison, this new record feels more tightly coiled and less deliberately romantic. Early word had the band claiming they’d upped the production sheen by “25 percent,” a compromise position that might have been interesting if the album they turned in didn’t reveal it as just another in a long line of smart aleck remarks.
There are still more than a few stubbornly catchy songs on Born Again Revisited. Times New Viking’s best asset continues to be singer/keyboardist Beth Murphy, who shines in both roles. Standouts like the minute-and-a-half-long blip of “Half Day in Hell” work well by being relatively roomy, muting the feedback squall to let her wide-eyed vocals and beat-up keys melt towards harmony. The guitar-dominated, male-fronted tracks are more hit or miss. For every tinny winner, like the brooding lead-off, “Martin Luther King Day,” or the casually anthemic “No Time, No Hope,” there seems to be a repetitive dirge lying in wait. The clamorous “I Smell Bubblegum,” for example, sounds like the sinister exclamation of a hunter/killer on the trail of some wounded pop trifle. The album’s success ratio is ultimately decent, but with two superior sets of very similar material fresh in the memory, the law of diminishing returns is starting to assert itself.
Times New Viking - "Half Day in Hell"
Posted by Jeff Klingman at November 9, 2009 01:14 AM
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