Ariel Pink was never supposed to be a rock star. A seemingly eccentric, reclusive 34 year old from Hollywood, Pink (real name Ariel Rosenberg) spent the majority of his early musical career recording scuzzy, freakish bedroom tapes of lo-fi weirdness, never intending to take them out on tour to play for audiences. Calling them his "Haunted Graffiti" Series, Pink took the listener on trips to different periods of musical history, borrowing influences from everything as varied as white funk, post-punk, dreamy pop, psychadelia, avant-garde and soft rock. It has always been apparent that Pink can write genius pop songs, namely "Round & Round" from the Haunted Graffiti's (his live band) breakthrough album "Before Today". Yet on a lot of his early releases, you sometimes feel like you're being led astray with mindfucks of songs that don't always feel fully-formed. However, if you become a Pink fan (which I have, wholeheartedly) you put up with his excessive oddball tendencies and go on to embrace them.
Pink made his break into the public's consciousness in the mid noughties when members of Animal Collective took his bedroom recordings and released them on their Paw Tracks label. Years on, Pink took his music to the stage but wasn't particularly well recieved due to the outlandish, impractical nature of his material, which didn't really come to fruition in front of impatient gig-goers. Line-ups were changed, with musicians coming and going (including fellow weirdo John Maus) but it wasn't until 2008-2010 that Pink finally made any real progress, when he formed his permanent, tight live band Haunted Graffiti and released the groundbreaking "Before Today". Some devoted fans were disenfranchised with Pink's step up to the big leagues and his newly polished sound, which was a leap from his lo-fi roots. The songs became cleaner and more fulfilled, whilst still retaining Pink's zany mannerisms and circus-like vibes.
"Before Today" took us to different corners of retro, both harking back to the past whilst hinting at the possibilities of the future. I personally consider it to be a masterpiece. Songs like "Menopause Man" (which still makes me think "what the fuck?" 2 years down the line) and "Little Wig" both confuse and please in equal measure, whilst "Round & Round" and "Beverly Kills" display Pink's knack for writing great pop songs with instantly memorable choruses. This album showed Pink in a new light, with so much potential.
The album went on tour with the band, who didn't shy away from screwing around with Pink's old material just to retain that Ariel weirdness, but who also opened up the music to newer, larger audiences (thanks to events such as Coachella, where Pink shot himself in the foot by throwing a hissy fit) and gave them a crazy, unleashed Hollywood native for better or worse. There has been speculation about Pink's behaviour, which includes crying onstage, falling out with the audience and refusing to sing whilst his band plays every note. Personally I don't know whether he merely puts on the persona for his own amusement and the audiences' bewilderment, or whether he actually is a nutjob. Perhaps a bit of both, but I guess knowing the exact reason would ruin his mystique.
Now, in August 2012, Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti give us "Mature Themes", their second major-label record. I've listened to it a couple of times so far and am still in the process of getting my head around it. Ariel's ever-changing voices remain, with him trading off his Americanised cartoon characters for Bowie-esque British croons and vice-versa. You just cannot put your finger on him and I'm always in wonder as to what he'll do next. Synths and organs make their presence known and work brilliantly, especially in the choruses, the best example being "Symphony of The Nymph" (every bit as fucked up as the title suggests). Lyrically, Pink is on insanely obscure form as always: "She's a nympho, at the discoteque, yeah she's a nympho, and a lesbian", and his subject matter ranges from disturbing to hilarious. The basslines are incredible, my favourite so far being the thudding post-punk brilliance of "Driftwood", which is moody yet danceable all at the same time, and the dark, brooding creep of "Early Birds of Babylon". Penultimate
track "Nostradamus & Me" gives the impression that we're in a
submarine, exploring the depths with a repetitive, up-and-down bassline
while Pink mumbles about the famous philosopher and himself.
There are still those classic Pink moments of "what did I just hear?" and they bleed into the rest of the album with ease. "Schnitzel Boogie" is mental, and finds Pink on the hunt for late-night munchies in a haze of krautrock wildness. Moments such as these result in a less accessible album than "Before Today", but again, if you're a true fan you will relish them as much as the perfection of songs such as the Donnie & Joe Emerson cover of "Baby" (feat. Dam-Funk), which has literally made my year. The combination of Dam-Funk's gravelly, sexy croon and Pink's feminine, emotional wail work miracles and create such a unique atmosphere. I have literally listened to it a 100 times since I came across it a couple of months ago. Not only is it a great rendition but it's also an ideal way to end the record, calming the listener down after a bumpy ride around Ariel Pink's haunted mind.
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