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With a mix of rock, electro, pop and indie sounds on their new album Hi Beams, it's safe to describe this US duo as more than a little eclectic. The US cousins have also made their name playing gigs in museums and took their name from a sport 'no one cared about'. Unconventional is the word we're looking for here.
Being in a band with a cousin isn't for everyone, but it came naturally for Tom Van Buskirk and George Langford. "We were always sort of making music separately when we were teenagers, but we both thought each other were talented and had something to offer the other," says one half of the pair, Van Buskirk. "It just naturally progressed that we started influencing each other aesthetically and we began to come up with the concept of what Javelin was."
Despite the fact that Javelin records - and even songs - frequently jump from genre to genre and refuse to settle on even one, there's still a sense of audible cohesion. "We're not schizophrenic, as far as we know," he insists. "It all comes from the same minds."
That doesn't mean that they have any plans to commit to a sound any time soon, however. "I think we will always do that," Van Buskirk continues. "It's all an evolution, in a sense. We used to worry that we weren't going to have a recognisable sound or style because we jumped around so much, but it's part of what keeps it interesting for us - we know we can try anything."
And it's not just their music which can be a little unconventional. Javelin's arguable breakthrough concert was at the Museum of Modern Art, and they recently played a gig in the space room at the Natural History Museum, showing their fondness for quirky venues.
"When we started out, there was a performance art aspect of what we did and, to some extent, still do," Van Buskirk explains. "So we would always look at a show as an opportunity to sort of install ourselves into an environment, and we travelled with these boomboxes that we would make a little sculpture out of wherever we were. There's something about a black room that's soaked with twenty years' worth of beer spills that's sort of predictable, and not quite as exciting."
Still, don't get it wrong; despite sounding serious, Javelin rely heavily on an element of comedy in their music - as evidenced by their name. While George's sister came up with it - they were about to play a show with Ratatat, and figured they should probably decide on their name - Van Buskirk is a definite fan of the connotations.
"We liked that it was a sporting event, and a silly one that not many people seem to care about - but it's also a little dangerous. It's sort of silly and dangerous at the same time," he says, agreeing that it seems to sum their band up.
And their travels to the UK this year could just be the start of it, with Van Buskirk deciding that what the band really want to achieve in 2013 is seeing their fans more.
"What I've been wanting to do lately is just sort of try to make it happen as performing more for our fans," he says. "Sometimes it takes us a long time to return to a city.
"You know, we just played Louisville for the first time last weekend and some people are like, 'yeah, I've been listening to you for four years and can finally come and see you!' I think just being more present with our band would be good enough for me."
