Composer: Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
Conductor: Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
Label: 4AD
Release Date: 2010-06-23
Rated: NONE
Genre: Recording
L.A. weirdo Ariel Pink’s most beloved work can be found on 2004’s The Doldrums, which was released on Animal Collective’s label. That should tell you something about Pink and his equally freaked-out collaborators. Like Animal Collective, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti make music that’s part stoned epiphanies, part Brian Wilson-style mad genius. But Pink’s songs occasionally sound like mini pop explosions, loaded with sounds to color your next kaleidoscopic sing-along (or drug orgy; take your pick). Before Today’s first minute includes a diving airplane, a ringing gong, twisted new-wave saxophones, and drums breaking out some weird time signature. By the time the echo-drenched gurgles and burps show up in “Hot Body Rub,” you’re pretty much prepared for Pink’s anything-goes approach to record-making. “Bright Lit Blue Skies” sounds like hippie-era paisley-poppers the 5th Dimension crossing over a couple extra dimensions. And the jangling/tinkling “L’Estat” is all warm grooviness. Those are just the first three songs. Pink has a lot more in store. Open your mind and prepare for the trip.
