With its unfurled imaginativeness, Vega INTL. Night School is unimaginatively the album you would expect from Neon Indian by now--one that comfortably and sublimely manages to work inside and outside of the expectations set by their previous work.
As with every Neon Indian album, VEGA INTL Night School can feel chaotic, effusive, even overwhelming at times. But, much like the proverbial “bright lights” of the city which provide the inspiration for this LP, it's dazzling, too.
Compared to the spontaneous hodgepodges of 2009’s Psychic Chasms or 2011’s Era Extraña, VEGA INTL. Night School is a far more intricately assembled product.
Those seeking the mellower vibes of his earlier work may be slightly less enamoured with VEGA INTL. Night School, it’s undeniably a record that’s confident, intelligent and above all, fun.
There’s still plenty to recommend here, but you can’t help but feel that Neon Indian have a top-drawer electro pop record in them, if only they can trim the fat accordingly.
This is an incredible album. The upbeat energy is fantastic and it feels like Adam Palomo just let everything out without any censorship.This is an incredible album. The upbeat energy is fantastic and it feels like Adam Palomo just let everything out without any censorship. Definitely different from his older albums but a great great album.…Expand
VEGA Intl. Night School takes its name from Alan Palomo's dance side project VEGA and the album is a culmination of both strands of his DNA,VEGA Intl. Night School takes its name from Alan Palomo's dance side project VEGA and the album is a culmination of both strands of his DNA, the woozy and warped synth-pop of Neon Indian and the aerated nu-disco of VEGA. The album is an almost drastic departure from 2011's Era Extraña, a mopey and somewhat self-serious album with several patches of what is usually called the ''sophomore slump''. Instead we get a true blast of a record: VEGA Intl. is a perfectly sequenced, spellbinding retro-dance odyssey, at once some imaginary score to a seedy Scorsese film and a drug-addled virtual reality session. Palomo pays homage to the technicolor glitz of those VH1 Classic 70s and 80s specials: there's strands of New Romantic, boogie, glam-rock, italo-disco, ska and synth-funk strewn liberally cross its tracklist, sometimes even within the same song. Of course that Palomo is far from being the only modern artist to play with vintage sub-genres of electronic music but his incisive imagination and psychedelic tendencies make the album sound anything but predictable. There are weird samples, impossibly funky basslines and layers of gilded synths at every turn, but all of it would be nothing without the confidence of Palomo's songwriting. Frequently resorting to a Prince-style falsetto, his vocals strike a perfect balance between melancholy and desire, while the lyrics are more pointed than usual. Highlights include the blissful reggae-pop of ''Annie'', the Balearic fever dream of ''Smut!'', the New Jack Swing-inspired ''Dear Skorpio Magazine'', and the queasy ''Street Level'', which features the record's most powerful, sublime chorus. I can't wait for his next one!…Expand
Anyone can clearly hear that this is the culmination of Neon Indian's various sounds and musical identities. This is a fantastic leap forwardAnyone can clearly hear that this is the culmination of Neon Indian's various sounds and musical identities. This is a fantastic leap forward and an overly pleasant listen indeed.…Expand
Neon Indians indulgent double album is one of the best produced albums I've heard in years! Its a distinctive dynamic exercise in skill withNeon Indians indulgent double album is one of the best produced albums I've heard in years! Its a distinctive dynamic exercise in skill with sliding beats that crackling with a playfulness buzzing with imagination. He sounds alive an excited as he creates these versatile dancescapes. A tremendous leap forward and an enviable peak.…Expand
I wish I could give this an 8.5 on this site, but I will settle for an 8 and here's why:
I love that Alan Palomo had this dynamic shiftI wish I could give this an 8.5 on this site, but I will settle for an 8 and here's why:
I love that Alan Palomo had this dynamic shift when he made this record. If you listened to Era Extrana and then this album, you'd swear they were not made by the same person. With this record, Neon Indian broke out of this shell where they were defined as this Chillwave act and sort of came into their own. I wish this on to all the other 'Chillwave' acts. (Though I feel like Chaz Bundick is taking Toro y Moi in an odd, retro direction.)
This album, for the first 2/3rds of it, is seamlessly mixed together into what I perceive as either the life of a NYC Club Rat, or just Alan Palomo's life in NYC. From the first track, Hit Parade, to the track Techno Clique, you feel like you are going along with Alan Palomo as he's telling you and anyone who is willing to listen about the **** he's going through as he goes about life in NYC. From him talking about his friend , Annie, going missing to ripping into his landlord on Slumlord, you really get a sense of how sporadic and volatile his life is, or at least how he perceives it to be.
My least favourite tracks, and the reason I don't rate this album higher, are the last 4 songs. (Granted, I do catch myself randomly singing 'C'est la vie say the casualties!') To me, they seem like they were either leftover song from the recording session of this album, or Alan just really liked these tracks and wanted to include them on here instead of throwing them on a b-side of one of the singles for this album. (Because they straight up sound like B-Sides)
I'd say you could listen to this album from track 1-10 and get an enjoyable musical experience. Listen to tracks 11-14 at your own leisure (and discretion).…Expand
VEGA wants you to feel like you're walking down a dimly lit alley way drenched in sweat after dancing the night away in a mid 80's disco andVEGA wants you to feel like you're walking down a dimly lit alley way drenched in sweat after dancing the night away in a mid 80's disco and it succeeds mostly due to some authentic production and Neon Indian's vocals which suite the style. Though the synths are sometimes a bit messy and muffle the vocals in some songs and the last third of the album just isn't as good as the first songs, I don't think it should detract from the great, dance-able tunes to be found here. Recommended. Highlights: Street Level, Slumlord and The Glitzy Hive.…Expand
I am not a huge Neon Indian fan, but I was pleasantly surprised by his new release. It is delightfully creative and quite fun. It does growI am not a huge Neon Indian fan, but I was pleasantly surprised by his new release. It is delightfully creative and quite fun. It does grow old by the end of its runtime. I feel like it could lose 15 minutes and be a more concise, gripping album. For this reason, I can't see myself returning to Vega Intl. Night School in its entirety, but I will definitely continue to play the highlights.…Expand
