Neon Indian

by Heather Phares
The blurry electronic pop project of an initially anonymous composer from Brooklyn and video artist from Austin, TX, Neon Indian was conceived as a multimedia experience combining their music and video into short films, teasers, and straight-up pop songs. Though Neon Indian released the No Way Down EP in 2008, the buzz around the pair didn't really start until spring 2009, when the songs "Should've Taken Acid with You" and "6699 (I Don't Know if You Know)" were posted and praised by indie blogs. A few months later, the songs "Deadbeat Summer" and "Terminally Chill" received similar treatment, and that summer, the identities of Neon Indian's members were revealed: Alan Palomo, formerly of the band Ghosthustler and also of the one-man electro project VEGA, was behind the music, while video artist Alicia Scardetta provided visuals. The pair's collaboration dated back to Palomo and Scardetta's time on their high school literary magazine, and Palomo wrote "Should've Taken Acid with You" about their friendship. Their EP Psychic Chasms was released in fall 2009.