New Politics hits the mark with Vikings
The band’s third album continues a successful streak
Max Schwartz
★★★★✩
Vikings
New Politics
Warner Bros Records
Released August 14, 2015
I saw New Politics when they performed in Boston last fall, and of course I had already heard their viral hits “Harlem” and “Yeah Yeah Yeah,” but I wasn’t too familiar with any of their other work. However, the show really blew me away and inspired me to check out their other songs (many of which were just as catchy and still find their way onto my playlists). Near the end of the show, they promised that a new album would be released during summer 2015. New Politics released their first single for the album, “Everywhere I Go (Kings and Queens),” back in 2014, and I’ve been eagerly awaiting the release of Vikings since.
The band includes David Boyd (lead vocals and guitar), Søren Hansen (guitar, bass guitar, and vocals), and Louis Vecchio (percussion and vocals). The trio is known for its energetic stage presence (which often includes feats of gymnastics), and like the performance, the music is generally upbeat and catchy with a punky, indie rock feel.
On Vikings, however, some songs, such as “Lovers in a Song” and “Stardust” were slower than most of the songs on the band’s previous albums. As much as I appreciated the attempt to branch out, I much preferred their bouncy, punkier tracks. Nevertheless, apart from those slower songs, the album is a nice dose of energetic indie rock. “Girl Crush,” “15 Dreams,” and “50 Feet Tall” were my favorite tracks by far. These same songs made up three of the four singles released for this album, so maybe the band agreed that these were its strongest songs.
Vikings is the Danish band’s third album, and it is just as strong as their previous works — I imagine the trio will continue to have a great deal of success if they keep turning out these sing-along indie-punk tracks. Vikings has 11 songs totalling 44 minutes of playtime. New Politics is coming back to Boston on Friday November 20 at the Boston House of Blues, and like I said, their performances rock, so I’ll definitely be there.