When punk first broke in 76, much was made of the pissed off vocals and sloppy guitars. Punk seamed to be more about attitude than musical chops. However the best of the these “first-wave” punk bands (The Clash, The Buzzcocks, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones) knew how to write a good hook. The pop smarts of these bands is why we keep returning back to Singles Going Steady or love to yelp along to Violent Femmes records. Times New Viking knows how to write a good hook and a great shout along chorus and it’s exactly this bratty catchiness that makes Rip It Off such a great album.
First off, those worrying that their move from the specialized Siltbreeze label to the major indie Matador would force TNV to clean up their sound have nothing to fear. The static haze that engulfs much of their songs remains and acts just as another instrument much as it did on last year’s The Paisley Reich. The album opens up with a heaving guitar line where the drums and keyboards soon join with the shouting voices of Adam Elliott and Beth Murphy to create a fantastic opening salvo of noise and melody. The fact that they are writing full songs with beginnings and ends help make this album feel much more accomplished than their previous work, where even their best songs felt like mere sketches of a good idea. Other songs such as Another Day and The Early 80’s are nothing more than fantastic indie pop songs drenched in lo-fi haze.
And really that’s the whole point of Times New Viking. Without the shouts and “tin-can” production they would probably be a justly loved indie pop band and I’d be making comparisons to Orange Juice and Television Personalities instead of The Undertones. However the dirt and grime of this release adds to the overall effect and helps separate TNV from the rest of the crowd.
Score: 8.6
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