Victims of the New Math – Open Highway
Acting like a vessel for eras past, singer/songwriter Thomas Young has channeled his energies into alternative act Victims of the New Math. With a reverence for ’60s garage rock, ’90s alt rock sensibilities, and a love for Guided By Voices-esque production values, his latest offering is Open Highway, a nine-song collection of lo-fi tunes peppered with upbeat songwriting, big energies, and classic-sounding songs that go down real easy. The album tackles many themes, including: love, frustration, fear, and beauty (what else from a classics-inspired album?), and has rightfully been mastered by Todd Tobias – GBV’s producer and engineer. The result is a sunny-sounding album that respects DIY production roots while valuing good songwriting – a fun and laid-back listen that will appeal to fans of psych rock, indie rock, and the gone-too-soon 1990s.
“ORANGE AND PURPLE SKIES” is the album’s opener and for good reason – it’s one of the LP’s best songs. Ratty guitar tones ring out in distorted glory, sounding like those razor-slashed Kinks guitars from way back when, providing a spitty background for Thomas’ endearing vocals. Sparkles of acoustic guitar twang out in all their glory, laying down a slinky backing-track for fuzzed-out guitar leads and plunking bass rhythms. It’s immediately followed by “APOLOGY IMPLIED,” which ventures a bit more into the album’s psych-rock leanings. Auto-wah guitar squirms out in the background while a steady bassline keeps the song moving. While these songs are pretty much polar opposites, at least in the world of Victims of the New Math, it’s a great one-two juxtaposition of what you can really expect as you make your way through Open Highway.
As you venture through Open Highway, you’ll find plenty more songs that fall somewhere between songs one and two. “WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT” rings out with delightfully jangly energy, and while the guitars here are clearly in the limelight, the auxiliary percussion helps make this one feel special. Whether it’s the tambourine jangling over every snare hit, or the unidentifiable tink-tink-tink that peeks through as Thomas sings the song’s namesake, there’s always something fun catching your ears. You can hear this same energy on “IN THE MORNING” and the organ-laced “WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE,” evoking fellow genre luminaries like Dinosaur Jr., Pavement, and, of course, the aforementioned Guided By Voices. “CRESCENT SUN” is another standout – the simple, stripped-back stomp/clap drums beat regularly while Thomas repeats “The crescent sun is on it’s way” over and over, making you feel like you’ve known this song for years even upon your first listen. If the album slow jam is always your favorite, be sure to stick around for the last two tracks too. “LOVE WILL SURVIVE” plays around with stunning string accompaniments, while album closer “THE GOLDEN AGE” utilizes a cosmic-sounding phaser to great effect. Together, they’re a fantastic way to end this delightfully raw LP.
Open Highway will hit the interweb on April 24, 2025. Until then, get familiar with a previous version of “Crescent Sun” embedded below.
Categorised in: Album Reviews
This post was written by Nick Sessanna