The blisteringly lo-fi rock trio is back with their fourth full-length in four years, and while it might not be the best one to start with for a newcomer (that would probably be Rip It Off), Born Again Revisited is a quality addition to Times New Viking's growing catalog.

Sticking to their usual instruments (drums, guitar, keyboard, double vocals) and signature ultimate-garage sound, Born Again is another complete work from a band that, in short, knows what they're doing. It's a widespread album, but not in the sense that it has a lot of themes. Instead, it's a collage of like-minded down-to-earth rock songs that vary most in mood and tone, all along propelled by the sense of immense urgency we've come to expect.

Some songs give off a dark vibe, others a bright one, but the combination of the two is really where Times New Viking make it interesting. Yeah, "Move To California" is my favorite song on here, but that's just because the harmonies and riffs makes it so damn listenable. The less harmonic songs, which are plentiful, might be a bit rough to get through depending on what you usually listen to, but they're still great songs because of the push and pull factor that TNV always has going.  Putting the listener at a crossroads between, well, lots of things, makes their music what is. Happiness and sadness, hope and realism, whatever. The dissonance, for the lack of a better word, is part of the message.

As Jean Genet put it, "To achieve harmony in bad taste is the height of elegance", and that definitely rings true with lots of Times New Viking's songs, especially on the new album.

8.2/10

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