Ariel Pinks Haunted Graffiti Before Today (4AD)
4/5
By: Jen Long
What the f**k is going on? This was my first thought as I awoke several thousand feet above the ground amid Almost Famous-like turbulence to the sound of a screeching car, dissonant chatter, and what could have been a children’s choir. It’s safe to say that Before Today, the new record from Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti is not an easy ride.
This is not a criticism. It isn’t very often that you find a record with this many ideas, experiments and nerve for adventurism. It’s even rarer to find a record that can hold these qualities and still sound as completely accomplished, inspiring, and mind blowing as Before Today.
This is the debut release for Ariel Pink on 4AD and it blows expectation out the frame to the point where I’m struggling to find any similar artists to reference in this review. It just encapsulates so much of what I love about contemporary music but in a weirdly nostalgic way. Much like recent Of Montreal glides from melody to breakdown to distortion to the beat of an unfathomable narrative, Ariel Pink’s songs make perfect sense, I’m just not sure how.
It’s as if someone has given Raffertie a 1950s songbook of slick quiff crooners and told him to cut and paste until his ears are content. It’s disorientating at times but that’s the real joy. I’ve spent my life listening to verse, chorus, verse, chorus… It’s nice to be challenged.
Although having said that, the real shock in listening to Before Today came when I started singing along. I mean, this is a record that opens with the sound of a helicopter, has a scream for a refrain in one track (‘L’estat’), and goes a bit B-52s in another (‘Friday Night’). But songs like ‘Menopause Man’, ‘Beverly Kills’ and the much blogged ‘Round and Round’ really do have pop hooks amid the stacked synths, layered vocals and swamp of samples. I feel like I could listen to this record forever and still not pull out every tiny aural detail.
So, if you like to make life difficult for yourself, choose Ariel Pink. You really will be rewarded for your effort. Just pick a suitable moment for your first listen.
Artists in this article: Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
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