I’m alive, you idiot!

Named after a Hollywood actor whose claim to fame is his questionable existence, Abe Vigoda the band hails from California and is one of the most thrillingly adventurous noise/punk bands dwelling within the Indie genre. And they don’t need a website to confirm their ticking pulses. For the record, Abe Vigoda the person, or Abraham Charles Vigodah, is an 87-year-old actor who was erroneously declared dead in 1982 by People magazine. This turned into a running joke that has since been exploited by late night TV hosts from Letterman to O’Brien and was even parodied in a considerably funny song by Greg Galcik.

Rather than serve as a homepage for the band that now shares Vigoda’s name, www.abevigoda.com keeps a current status much like that of Facebook’s status toolbar, for the actor’s presence in our hemisphere. It even helpfully encourages you to refresh the page to check that he hasn’t keeled over since your last click.

But I digress.

Abe Vigoda the band is sort of like Animal Collective in drag - as Arcade Fire. The closest local equivalents I can think of would be Surf City or Mean Street. Their boyish yells coupled with muffled drums and a well-kept beat screams of a well-worn DIY aesthetic, which is appropriate considering their residency at the esteemed volunteer-run all ages LA venue The Smell, and their gigs alongside Mika Miko, The Mae Shi, No Age, Get Hustle, XBXRX, Shoplifting and Chromatics. Releasing their third album titled Skeleton in July on PPM (Post Present Medium), who are rightfully both proud and excited about the group, the songs heard so far from Abe Vigoda’s upcoming release hint at a very promising avenue for the band, showing layers of shimmering guitar tracks, Reggie Guerrero’s click-clack drums - comparable to Panda Bear’s Bros - and the dual attack of Michael Vidal and Juan Velazquez’s soft, hazy and extremely likeable tenor vocals. David Reichardt’s battering bass seals the deal.

Forget Abraham’s ticker, I’d keep an eye on your own pulse. For if this music doesn’t spark some interest then maybe your heart’s a little sleepy.

Abe Vigoda – All Night and Day (remix): MP3

Abe Vigoda – Calypso: MP3

Abe Vigoda – Gallop: MP3

Greg Galcik – Abe Vigoda’s Dead: MP3

Abe Vigoda – Myspace

Posted by Sarah Gooding under Los Angeles