Neon Indian

History

Alan Palomo was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and at age five his family relocated to San Antonio, Texas. He later moved to Denton to study at the University of North Texas. Before starting Neon Indian, Palomo had already been making music during high school under the names Ghosthustler and VEGA. He once mentioned plans to release another VEGA album just before his debut as Neon Indian, but that never happened.

Palomo credits his father as a musical inspiration, noting that his dad had a short career as a Mexican pop star in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and Palomo has used samples of his father’s work in Neon Indian songs. The name Neon Indian came from Palomo’s ex-girlfriend, Alicia Scardetta, who also inspired the track “Should Have Taken Acid with You.” That song started as a musical apology for missing a planned acid trip with her, and her positive reaction encouraged Palomo to keep writing as Neon Indian.

2009–2010: Psychic Chasms

The first album, Psychic Chasms, came out on October 13, 2009, through Lefse Records. Pitchfork gave it their Best New Music designation, and Spin called it a dreamy collage of samples and synth tones. Pitchfork later ranked it the 14th best album of 2009 and placed two of its tracks on their Top 100 Tracks list. In September 2010, the album was reissued with a bonus remix set called Mind Ctrl: Psychic Chasms Possessed; the UK version also added the track “Sleep Paralysist.”

2011–2013: Era Extraña and Errata Anex

The second album, Era Extraña, was recorded in Helsinki, Finland, during the winter of 2010 and released on September 13, 2011, via Mom + Pop Music and Palomo’s own Static Tongues label. A short video from Helsinki, released on April 20, 2011, featured an excerpt from “Heart: Attack,” the first part of a three-part instrumental piece on the album, followed by “Heart: Decay” and “Heart: Release.”

Tour and live performances

When performing, Palomo is joined on stage by a live band. The original lineup consisted of Jason Faries (drums), Leanne Macomber (keyboard, vocals), and Lars Larsen (live visuals); Ronald Gierhart played guitar and sang prior to 2011.

On February 11, 2010, Neon Indian made their live television debut on NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Palomo later revised the lineup, retaining only Faries and adding Drew Erickson, Max Townsley, and Palomo's brother Jorge Palomo. During the 2019 tour, Brad Oberhofer joined on synth.

Did You Know?

• Neon Indian contributed the song "Change of Coast" exclusively to the soundtrack of Grand Theft Auto V, released on September 24, 2013.
• Palomo appeared in director Terrence Malick's 2017 film Song to Song opposite Rooney Mara.