Ohio's Times New Viking are one of the bands that the reemergence of DIY/LoFi can be attributed to. Their first album 'Dig Yourself' helped revive Siltbreeze Records and since then have had more prestigious labels supporting their music including Matador and Columbus Discount. New album 'Dancer Equired' is brought to us from Merge in the U.S and Wichita in the U.K. Times New Viking continue to craft pop songs through exploring what lies within limitations they set themselves utilizing a modest set up of a guitar, drums and a tiny keyboard. However, don't be surprised to find that they've changed things up slightly, most notably ducking away from their customary raspy 4 track recording process and distilling their sound.
Clocking in at around 30 minutes, 'Dancer Equired' is packed with striking hooks, somersaulting keyboards and head-bouncing rhythms. This is best shown in all its glory on track "Fuck Her Tears" with reveling vocals chanting "My heart, it beats yes, To your silouhette, aaaaaaa!! Fuck her tears". The listener gets to catch their breath in places, such as the wonderfully catatonic "Downtown Eastern Bloc". Metronomic guitars and drums underscore the song which builds and climaxes before plaintively buckling at the end. The album closes with "No Good" featuring a barbed acoustic guitar and curiously fragile vocals singing, "Let me know the reason that we are both here, It may not be for romance, But a direction we need to steer". The album neatly retreats at the end of this track leaving a mark on the listener that resonates long after it has finished. 'Dancer Equired' is as progressive as it is familiar and another triumph for Times New Viking who, deliver an album which rewards its audience on each and every listen.
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