We have a bit of an oddity here, folks. Never before have I reviewed an album that has left me quite so split since never before, in fact, have I listened to a band’s recorded output that I have found simultaneously an extremely enjoyable experience yet also pretty damned close to unlistenable. For those of you unfamiliar with the band, this demands some explanation.Times New Viking, a young 3 piece from Ohio, on Matador, are, on the one hand, pretty much precisely the kind of a band that I enjoy. They feature a range of Thoroughly Good Things on the indie-rock checklist, like big meaty tuneful riffs (the opener to 'Teen Drama'; almost straying into chuggy Sex Pistols territory on 'Mean God'); chaotic mix-and-match shared boy-girl vocals; songs that often feature a kind of joyous ‘60s naivety in spirit ('My Head', 'Drop Out') and a pop sensibility sometimes reminiscent of a kind of fuzzed-up Bangles, as found in the girl vocal sections of 'Faces on Fire'. Guitars are loud, keyboards are occasionally drafted in to greater or lesser prominence (notably on 'Another Day'), and percussion of the “bash the cymbal very loudly” school features. As short track follows short track in quick succession, none of them get that much of a chance to develop, structurally; but most feature flashes of lyrical positivity like “Hats off to everyone / Hats off for you” ('End Of All Things'), “I wanted to buy you flowers” ('The Early ‘80s'), “I’ve got a thing for you” ('Post Teen Drama') and rattle along in rather fine fettle.

All well and good then? Well sort of. What I’ve not mentioned so far, is the extreme, ear-shredding layer of fuzz / feedback / white noise in which the whole album has been drenched. These are production values that take “lo fi” to the absolute extreme. So, you hear and note all of the above Good Things, yet wince at the same time as your ears take a pummelling and strain to make them out through the murk. The effect is cumulative ”“ what sounds refreshing, bracing and kind of endearing for the first few tracks slowly becomes more gruelling as the album continues on its way. It’s as if the band has deliberately set this as a challenge for you, the listener, to see if you can make it through to the end. Which, actually, is a bit of a shame. By the album’s end I found I was left frustrated by the sense that a lot of this band’s finer points had been placed ”“ quite deliberately ”“ just beyond my grasp, hidden behind this very un-Spector “Wall of Sound”. The one point at which the fog lifts ”“ half way through 'End Of All Things' ”“ the effect is marked and dramatic: like when a headache that you only half-realised you were suffering from suddenly lifts, and a welcome relief.

I’ve not managed to find anything, during my limited internet browsing, that has explained to me the artistic explanation behind TNV’s decision to present their songs in this challenging fashion. It strikes me as rather a pity and I certainly, for one, would have the album on much heavier rotation if they had perhaps just lightened up a little on the ear-mangling elements. There is a lot more than that to recommend this band, it’s just that they make it kind of hard for you to fully appreciate it. 78%Links Times New Viking [myspace]