I knew Neon Indian for songs like Deadbeat Summer (which, while an OK song, I associated so strongly with shithead blogs and other attendant grossness that I could not get into it at all) and Polish Girl, which I enjoyed when I heard on the radio--but this song, this whole album, is so enjoyable and fun and advances such a defined aesthetic that it makes me want to go back and listen to what I missed out on before. VEGA INTL. Night School seems like a sophisticated re-packaging or appropriation of the best of the chillwave (or vaporwave) aesthetic--the sounds seem disposable and mediated but they're arranged with such purpose here; this album creates a world in the same way that great videogames create a world--with a lot of atmosphere, color, ambient texture, and compelling details (it is a weird world, sure, but it's also fun to spend time in it). There is something very 'arcade' about this album--it's dirty and sordid in some ways, dark and goofy too, but it is also a total pleasure-delivery device. Almost every song on the album is a highlight.[BUY VEGA INTL. Night School]
I knew Neon Indian for songs like Deadbeat Summer (which, while an OK song, I associated so strongly with shithead blogs and other attendant grossness that I could not get into it at all) and Polish Girl, which I enjoyed when I heard on the radio--but this song, this whole album, is so enjoyable and fun and advances such a defined aesthetic that it makes me want to go back and listen to what I missed out on before. VEGA INTL. Night School seems like a sophisticated re-packaging or appropriation of the best of the chillwave (or vaporwave) aesthetic--the sounds seem disposable and mediated but they're arranged with such purpose here; this album creates a world in the same way that great videogames create a world--with a lot of atmosphere, color, ambient texture, and compelling details (it is a weird world, sure, but it's also fun to spend time in it). There is something very 'arcade' about this album--it's dirty and sordid in some ways, dark and goofy too, but it is also a total pleasure-delivery device. Almost every song on the album is a highlight.[BUY VEGA INTL. Night School]