NewVillager put on one of the most impressive shows I witnessed during CMJ 2009. In front of a vividly colored, transformative sculpture, Ben Bromley and Ross Simonini performed “new pop,” their own brand of pop pastiche riddled with electronic touches, in the crowded basement of The Delancey. At the time, they had only a 7-inch single with the groovy electropop tune “Genghis On” and the tribalesque “Rich Doors.” The duo recently released the single “LightHouse” accompanied by a hyper hypnotic video and announced the bewitching, nimble song is from its debut album set to drop on August 16 on IAMSOUND, home to MEN, Suckers and Telepathe. Although NewVillager has comparatively very little recorded music available, each song on the forthcoming album apparently was recorded in 10 distinctive versions complete with different lyrics and melodies. But music is only a small fraction these multimedia artists obsessed with mythology engage in. They post photos of their striking work and inspiration on their blog. The band has lately been playing with a wide variety of bands in New York, including MNDR, Gordon Voidwell, MEN, Savoir Adore and Princeton, which only speaks to their chameleon-like appeal. Before NewVillager embarks on a few gigs with Okkervil River and Titus Andronicus on the West Coast, the band will play a show tonight at 285 Kent for Gigantic Magazine’s launch party. – Nancy Chow
