Times New Viking is an American

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band from

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. The lineup consists of guitarist Jared Phillips, drummer Adam Elliott, and Beth Murphy on keyboards. Murphy and Elliott share vocal duties. Their name, "Times New Viking," is a play on the popular typeface

Times New Roman Times New Roman is a serif typeface. It was commissioned by the British newspaper ''The Times'' in 1931 and conceived by Stanley Morison, the artistic adviser to the British branch of the printing equipment company Monotype, in collaboration wit ...

. They have released five albums: 2005's ''Dig Yourself'', 2007's ''Present the Paisley Reich'', and 2008's ''Rip It Off'', which ''NME'' gave an 8/10, and 2009's ''Born Again Revisited''. ''Rip it Off'' reached No. 17 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Heatseekers chart. The band was formerly signed to

Siltbreeze Siltbreeze is an American independent record label based in Philadelphia. It is known for its eclectic roster of artists and releases of experimental, noise, folk, and rock-based music. Founded in 1989 by Ohio native Tom Lax, the label evolved out ...

and

Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City apart ...

. In January 2011, they announced that their fifth album, ''Dancer Equired!'', would be released in April via

Merge Merge, merging, or merger may refer to: Concepts * Merge (traffic), the reduction of the number of lanes on a road * Merge (linguistics), a basic syntactic operation in generative syntax in the Minimalist Program * Merger (politics), the comb ...

in the US, Wichita in Europe, Pop Frenzy in Australia and Big Nothing in Japan. Following the release of the ''Over & Over'' EP in 2012, the band went on an extended hiatus that saw the trio relocating to different corners of the US, and did not play live for four years. Each member continues to make music and art in various mediums to this day. In 2016, they reunited to play 4th and 4th Fest in Columbus.

Music

Times New Viking have been noted for their

aesthetic, recorded to cassette, which (along with their Ohio home) drew comparisons to Guided by Voices' early material. They were considered part of the "shitgaze" genre, alongside contemporaries such as Psychedelic Horseshit,

Sic Alps Sic Alps were an American garage rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 2004 by Mike Donovan and Adam Stonehouse, they released music on Siltbreeze, Drag City, Woodsist and several other independent record labels. After signing ...

and Eat Skull. Notable features of their songs include shouted vocals, distorted drums and loud, trebly guitars in addition to tape hiss and brevity. The tracks on Rip It Off were mastered to a RMS -db value of 0 (or near to) making them comparatively as loud as possible. Their lyrics are generally sloganistic and feature pop culture references. With 2009's ''Born Again Revisited'', the band recorded the album to VHS and commented the recording fidelity had increased by 25%. In 2010, the group released a 7" single available on their tours opening for Guided by Voices. The single, featuring "No Room to Live", displayed cleaner production, a result of the band utilising proper recording studios for the first time – namely Musicol Recording studio and Columbus Discount Recordings. It has been reported by Merge Records that ''Dancer Equired!'' will also feature this production style.

Discography

Albums

*''Dig Yourself'' (2005) *''

Present the Paisley Reich ''Present the Paisley Reich'' is the second album by lo-fi indie rock group Times New Viking. The CD release is expanded to include songs from two seven-inch releases: "Busy Making Love & War" and a split EP with Psychedelic Horseshit Psychedeli ...

'' (2007) *'' Rip It Off'' (January 22, 2008) *''

Born Again Revisited ''Born Again Revisited'' is the fourth album by Columbus-based trio Times New Viking, and their second release for Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, expe ...

'' (September 22, 2009) *''

Dancer Equired! ''Dancer Equired'' is the fifth album by Columbus, Ohio-based trio Times New Viking, and their first release for Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Bal ...

'' (April 26, 2011)

EPs

*''Dead New Viking EP'' (2005) *''Stay Awake EP'' (2008) *''Over & Over EP'' (2012)

Singles

* "Busy Making Love and War" (2005) * "We Got Rocket" (2005) * "My Head" (2007) * "Call and Respond" (2008) * "No Time, No Hope" (2009) * "No Room to Live" (2011)

References

External links

Times New Viking Discography and Images
at SoundUnwound
Synconation Speaks with Adam Elliott of Times New Viking
{{Authority control Indie rock musical groups from Ohio Lo-fi music groups Musical groups from Columbus, Ohio Matador Records artists Merge Records artists Wichita Recordings artists Siltbreeze Records artists