Javelin is the creative endeavor of George Langford and Tom Van Buskirk, cousins from New England.
Javelin began making music in 2005 under the auspice of the Providence, RI art/noise scene. They wielded a mobile boombox soundsystem that used FM transmission to pump out pop-influenced sample collages, and their aesthetic aimed for surrealist block party in-a-box.
In 2008 they performed at MoMA’s Poprally event and moved operations to Brooklyn. They quickly made a dent in the extensively musician-populated borough and were featured in Pitchfork’s “Rising” section. Pitchfork also named “Vibrationz” Best New Track, and gave honorable mention to the self-released CD-R Jamz n Jemz in their Staff List 50 Best Albums of the Year (2009). Javelin released two 12″ EPs on Thrill Jockey that were housed in dollar bin record sleeves and silkscreened with their name, actualizing the thrift store / dollar bin / sampled art aesthetic that had been their hallmark.
In 2010 Javelin signed to Luaka Bop, David Byrne’s psychedelic world music label, who released their debut LP No Màs. The album artwork and booklet featured spray painted record cover collages by Tom Van Buskirk. Javelin played shows and toured with Yeasayer, Sleigh Bells, Future Islands, Matt & Kim, Warpaint, Major Lazer, performing at Lollapalooza and The Whitney Museum, as well as parties across the US, Europe, and South America. They booked the flights themselves.
In 2011 Javelin joined up with a wagon train and headed West. The Kickstarter funded psychedelic cowboy short film Canyon Candy, directed by Mike Anderson, and the Canyon Candy EP (Luaka Bop), found Javelin exploring a junk store cowboy aesthetic. The project culminated in a multimedia art installation with Mike Anderson at the Clocktower Gallery in New York, which stayed up half the year into 2012.
The new record, released in the Spring of 2013, is called Hi Beams. It represents a more holistic approach to writing and recording than previously attempted by the band. Lyrics and vocal harmonies for the first time are foregrounded in decidedly songlike forms. Songs made to be performed in concert rather than as a patchwork of fragmented if glittery shards.
Last updated: September 25, 2013