(Image courtesy of 4AD)Though he’s been part of the Los Angeles music scene for just over a decade now, Ariel Rosenberg, better known as Ariel Pink, has only recently been catapulted to the forefront of indie-pop.
His earlier albums, under the moniker Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, were released on Animal Collective’s label, Paw Tracks, featuring claustrophobic bedroom pop that Pink produced with limited access to actual instruments — for instance, lacking an actual drum set, he resorted to mouth noises to create rhythms and built his songs around them.
In 2010, with a move to record label 4AD, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti released “Before Today,” an album that got some serious positive attention from Pitchfork, which gave the album a 9/10, and some heavy criticism from Consequence of Sound, which gave the album a zero. Despite disagreements like this, one thing was for sure: Pink’s voice and his self proclaimed “glo-fi” music were finally getting looks from critics.
Four years later, the controversy built around his music and his outspoken opinions has only grown, so much so that he has earned the title of “Indie Rock’s Most Hated Man,” but I’d like to put that on the back burner for a minute and talk about his epic new double album, “Pom Pom.”
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Ringing in at 67 minutes, the 17-song “Pom Pom” shows that Pink has a lot to say, but sometimes his tales are so surreal that it seems the best course of action is to just press play and enjoy the ride.
Beginning with alliterative “Plastic Raincoats in the Pig Parade,” Pink welcomes listeners into his world of “white and black and polka dotted” skies. He sings about cocaine, “Tokyo night” and scarred mannequins. With these sentiments, Pink gives us ample warning that the forthcoming songs are going to be odd.
The weirdness comes to a peak during “Dinosaur Carebears,” which starts off like the opening song of a nightmarish circus before melting into high school garage jam that eventually becomes the soundtrack to a Super Mario videogame. “Jell-o” is oddball bubblegum pop at best; it feels like a ridiculous radio jingle for the gelatin on sale at your local supermarket.
The most unique story is that of “Black Ballerina,” a synth-pop grove about Shotgun Billy’s first trip to a strip club, under the guidance of One-Eyed Willy. Billy nervously enjoys his short but sweet dance with C-String Sally before getting kicked out of the club.
The album shifts for the first time with standout “Four Shadows,” which comes together like a clash between '70s-era Bowie and Roger Waters circa “The Wall.” It is the first point on the album where Pink does not indulge in overt goofiness. In fact, this song seems quite morbid with its repeating message of “only darkness in the night.”
This eeriness continues on “Picture Me Gone,” a song about a father leaving a digital library of photos for his son to look at after he passes away. At a recent public school appearance, Pink explained his fascination with a seemingly inevitable extinction of physical photography to a fifth grade class.
“Pom Pom” does, however, have moments of sentimental beauty. “Put Your Number in My Phone” sees Pink doing his best to get a girl’s number, wishing only for “some time alone” with her, “to get to know you more.” “One Summer Night” details the lamenting of a lost love. Pink pleads for love, singing, “I can’t go on living every night.”
It's clearer than ever that Pink lives in his own world — one that is both more glamorous, but strangely dirtier and odder than the earth that most of us call home. Next weekend, I will be heading to Los Angeles to see him live at The Regent Theater. My mission: Find out the fastest and cheapest way to secure a one-way ticket to Ariel’s World.
Tell the reporter about your voyage to a freak show in Los Angeles at wruof@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @willruof
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