Over the five year history of this site, Denton, TX-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and electronic music artist Alan Palomo and his solo recording project Neon Indian has become a JOVM mainstay — especially in the lead-up to the release of his recently released full-length album, VEGA Intl. Night School, an album that has expanded Palomo’s national and international profile.
Night School’s first single “Annie” was recently released to critical praise from the likes of Pitchfork and Paste, as the song clearly drew influence from 80s synth pop and R&B — and was comprised of a taut yet sinuous bass line, angular funk guitar chords and shimmering and cascading synth stabs paired with Palomo’s plaintive falsetto — and sonically the song possessed an uncanny resemblance to Rush Midnight and the Cascine Records roster, which also specialize in an extremely similar, sleek and summer party funk. The album’s second single “Slumlord” was a slickly produced, densely layered song featuring layers of cascading synth chords stacked upon each other, wobbling bass, propulsive, four-on-the floor drum programming, and Palomo’s plaintive falsetto to create a sound that sounds as though it equally draws from 80s synth pop as it does from I Love You It’s Cool-era Bear in Heaven as it’s a club-banging electro pop tune with a sincere, aching heart at its core.
Night School‘s third and latest single “The Glitzy Hive” continues Palomo’s stretch of 80s-inspired singles as the song consists of wobbling bass, pumping beats and layers of cascading synth paired with Palomo’s dreamy falsetto to a craft a club-banging, party time sort of song that sounds as though it were channeling Cameo‘s “Candy” as it’s a funky, slow-burning and swaggering track.
The folks at Pitchfork and GoPro teamed up for a video installment they’ve dubbed GP4K, a video series captured exclusively (and entirely) with the GoPro HERO4 Black. The latest installment featured Neon Indian performing “The Glitzy Hive.” Video director and editor Jim Larson shot Palomo and his backing band performing the song in a psychedelic homage to Soul Train, featuring dancers choreographed by Brooklyn-based performance duo FLUCT. GoPro cameras were placed strategically throughout the performance space and rather than using traditional camera operators, GoPros were attached to gimbals, which were then mounted to the dancers and Alan Palomo to capture the performers perspectives — and it gives the viewer a unique perspective into the performance.
