Over & Over

From the tunneling guitar jangle of the opening track, "Sleep-In" (which recalls the revered Clean, with whom TNV have toured), it's a relief to hear Times New Viking strip away its excessive grit and grime so we can better hear the band's impressive way with melody. TNV's earlier releases (up until the last LP, Dancer Equired!) buried astonishingly catchy and unique pop melodies under enormous amounts of fuzz and distortion; it was rewarding to unearth the melodies but also somewhat exhausting. Not to say Over and Over doesn't require a wee bit of work; after the sweet and easy pop tones of "Telephone Wires" and "Middle Class Drags"—with Beth Murphy's organ pointing the way—songs like the dark, Velvets-on-a-bad-trip vibe of "Y2K2" and the dense and messy "Future with Girls" beg for your unfocused attention. But the trio is on a welcome path with Over and Over's friendlier assaults, and the spare, Beat Happening–style clatter of "At the Bars" is a super-sweet closer.