Maybe it's nostalgia talking but Times New Viking's Present The Paisley Reich is taking me on one hell of an indie nostalgia trip joyride right now. Not since the treasure map of early Pavement recordings has such a blissful lo fi racket entered these ears. I don't know why I am writing such lavender prose, I guess I'm just in a weird mood. But this band really is kicking my ass more with each listen. And what's more, maybe this is one of the secret ingredients, they actually rock harder than most lo-fi of yore. Which makes the blissed out joyful racket that much more blissed and joyful. On the group's myspace which lists the members as Hamish Kilgour, Brix E. Smith, Mark Ibold (nudge nudge wink wink) and "///ron house on tapes", a note from Matador informs us that TNV will soon become the cache of "exactly the sort of people you can't stand to hang around with". And Matador, that towering Chrysler Building of Indie Rock tm, should know because having signed the kids they're gonna be the ones bringing these 'sorts' to the party. But oh well it was never my party anyway. Since teenage years I've been mostly content having Transmissions from Satelite Indie beamed in from a distance. What's really of note is that Siltbreeze Records revived itself to bring out TNV's Dig Yourself. And that hearing "New Times, New Hope" offers a rush akin to seeing some lost beloved denizens returning from the Arctic Shelf with the news that yes it's melting but we can still party etc. Andy Mister has probably already heard Times New Viking, but I wonder what he thinks.