Austin Sound

Um, what? No, seriously - what the hell is this? The last thing that really pops into our mind when listening to Neon Indian is a giant spider. But then, guess that’s why we’re not artists and Joao Machado is. His stop motion animated video for Neon Indian’s “6669″ is kinda creepers. Neon Indian’s Alan Palomo just finished playing the Pitchfork Festival last weekend and is getting ready to head out on tour with Phoenix in September. All that is good and well, but we’ve also noticed that Neon Indian now seems to be calling Brooklyn home? On their myspace, they list Brooklyn and Austin, and on their twitter, just Brooklyn. But what makes this super weird is that Palomo’s other project, VEGA, is still listed as based in Austin! It’s all so very confusing. Perhaps Palomo has actually transcended time and space, or officially split himself in two. Either way, check out the video below.

What’s left to say about Neon Indian’s Psychic Chasms? Do a quick google search for something like “It’s high time someone shed some proper love on the 80s” and you’ll be up to your waist in “Best New Music” and FADER boners in .00001 seconds. Ask your older brother what the next big song is and (depending on your family) you’ll likely be accepting an aim file transfer for “Empire State of Mind” with a “Terminally Chill” B-side. Yeah, Neon Indian blew up. And rightly so: with Alan Palomo (of VEGA) at the helm, the band charted a commendable course through a bygone era. But, hey, you knew they were from Austin, right?

It takes a really demented mind to look a band like Au Revoir Simone and think, “Hey, you know what would make this so much better? More synth!” Enter Alan Paloma, the Ghosthustlin’ Vega turned Neon Indian (going native?). We think this was really just a ploy by Paloma to get the attention of the lovely Simone ladies, cuz, ya know, chicks dig the remix, but he recently spiced up Au Revoir Simone’s song “Another Likely Story” with some tripped out Eighties flashbacks. This track comes via Gorilla Vs. Bear, who we’re pretty sure is under contractual obligation to cover all things Paloma, no matter how gratuitous. Neon Indian played Colorado’s Monolith Festival this past weekend and is now off to Europe, but will be back in Austin to show off his new Euro-trash influences for the !!! ACL afterparty at Emo’s on October 2, and of course the Fun Fun Fun Fest on November 7. He’ll also be dropping his debut album, Psychic Chasms, in between those dates on October 13.

Alan Palomo is a busy guy. The former Ghosthustler’s new band, Vega, was just taking off, when word has come down that another one of his projects, Neon Indian, just inked a deal with Lefse Records. Neon Indian is apparently a team up of Palomo with visuals from Brooklyn-based video artist Alicia Scardetta, and they don’t have much lined up together in the way of live shows yet - only the Monolith Festival in Colorado in June. The music is a little trippier and more psych than Vega, but Palomo’s pretty sweet beats still shine through. Their debut, Psychic Chasms will be dropping on October 13, and you can a taste of it with the nice summer groove a tune “Terminally Chill” below. (You can also download another track, “Deadbeat Summer” on the label’s site). And in the meantime, you can catch Vega next Friday, July 17, at Club DeVille.