Times New Viking Stay Awake

You want lo-fi indie rock? You got it and Times New Viking are only too happy to give it to you on their EP, Stay Awake. This five song blast of noise clocks in at under 12 minutes and sounds like it was recorded using a boombox and a Radio Shack microphone. It's so completely lo-fi that lo-fi almost seems like a bit much...it might just be lo.

Setting aside the stellar production quality, Stay Awake actually is quite a nice little blast of indie rock that sounds something like the Thermals meets The Moldy Peaches stuck in an echo chamber. This is raw, loud, abrasive stuff that somehow manages to be melodic despite being stuck in a cloud of distortion. Stay Awake finds a way to win you over with it's sharp catchy melodies that while unpolished are still absorbing. Check out the spiky wail of, "Call and Respond," or the heartfelt shrug of, "No Sympathy," for examples of just how this band manages with so little.

Stay Awake is an unpolished gem of no-fi pop that while sounding rough is miraculously easy on the ears; fun stuff.