NewVillager - NewVillager

San Francisco’s NewVillager initially, and perhaps unfairly, trigger an inbuilt mechanism to avoid bands with style over substance. With terms like ‘artistic collective’ and ‘immersive rituals’ changing hands faster than limited edition vinyl, it’s very easy to be skeptical. After all, such abundance of buzzwords would normally consign your average band to the hipster scrapheap in seconds.

This, their self-titled album, certainly has its moments of brilliance. Ross Simonini and Ben Bromley - complete with ironic facial hair – clearly have an ear for texture. With quasi-religious chants, and countless layers of contagious melody, this is an album defying the current trend of cutting back to basics. ‘Lighthouse’ is a standout track, and is surprisingly listenable. Despite the plethora of vague lyrical references, you don’t need the vocabulary of Saatchi to enjoy it. The off-kilt orchestral intro launches into an infectious piano-driven track, and it would seem somewhere behind all the artsy jargon there is obviously genuine conviction. ‘Rich Doors’ is another strong song, with more layers than a knickerbockaglory, and an experimental slant that makes great use of different vocal pitches and ambitious production techniques. With tribal-esque drums, spacey twinkles and a memorable chant, the whole effect is quite hypnotic.

A few other songs share the ability to lull the listener into a trace – largely because there isn’t enough going on to grab full attention. ‘Bad Past Gone Away’ is very cumbersome, with stumbling beats, and no apparent hook. The vocal production that was so successful on other songs just fails to gel. ‘Overpass’ feels like a wasted finale, and sounds like a couple of drunk art students pissing about on a keyboard.

There is a fine line between concept album and pretentious crap, and luckily NewVillager manage to stay largely the right side. This is an album written with an artistic concept in mind – music is only one part of NewVillager’s very ambitious vision. So, think of this as a piece of art for just a minute. Like Tracey Emin’s notorious ‘Unmade Bed’, we might not understand this album. We might not even think it is actually art. But you’ve got to admit, there is something very intriguing about it.