Chad VanGaalen: Light Information review – diverse collection from cult indie-rocker

Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, animator and director – Chad VanGaalen is an indie-rock polymath whose cult fanbase is now being treated to a sixth solo album. Longtime fans, then, will check it out as a matter of course, but it's not too late to jump on the train. VanGaalen plays almost everything here himself and there's a pleasingly homespun, intimate feel to these 12 songs – plenty to enjoy for fans of Pavement, Parquet Courts and Alvvays (one of the bands he's recorded). While a crossover hit is probably as far from VanGaalen's mind as it is from actually happening, the swelling choruses of Old Heads and Mind Hijacker's Curse hit the spot. Elsewhere, there's scratchy punk (Golden Oceans), wiggy psych (Host Body) and lilting balladry (Pine and Clover). It's a diverse bunch of songs united by fuzzy guitars, splashes of synth and VanGaalen's easy charm. chadvangaalen.com