One of the complaints about "modern" recording techniques is that they sound sterile. You know, they don't have the pops and clicks of tape, and they don't change over time, because they're not physical the same way that tape is. The arguments are the same for vinyl, because the recordings change (or breathe) over time, unlike on a compact disc or MP3, where they sound the same as the day they were recorded.
Why am I mentioning this? Because Vivian Girls don't like how they're referred to as "lo-fi," the movement that critics and a lot of indie fans grabbed at desperately in the last couple of years. They think it's bull shit, which it is. Because there are only two ways you get the sound of a record that is referred to as lo-fi: Either by using shitty equipment, or by making it sound that way. That's it. That's how it happens.
For Times New Viking, well, they're doing that on purpose, which is a damn shame because they write some really great songs that you have to work to hear through all the static. (Which is exactly what they want.) In the case of Vivian Girls, who say they record in modern, beautific studios, I think this is just the way they sound. I'm not sure what the problem is, frankly. I like it.
Sounding a lot like a classic 60s girl group, these three chicks kick more ass then the label-controlled girl crooners of that time. The songs are catchy, melodic and I imagine that when they do this live, it's loud as shit. What more can you want? Oh, how bout that solo halfway through "Sixteen Ways?" Yeah, that's what did it for me too.
Stop hating on the critical buzz words and bury yourself in the rock and roll of Vivian Girls.
Buy the new Vivian Girls album, Share The Joy, from Polyvinyl Records. (You'd be pre-ordering either a CD or vinyl album, and get an instant MP3 download of the album. Great deal, straight from a great label.)
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