Showing posts with label ariel pink. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ariel pink. Show all posts
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buffaBLOG's Best of 2012: Staff Picks - Steven Gordon



I'm pretty glad that the world ends today. It was fun. 2012 was the best year yet. And I'm especially glad that this is the last list you will ever read on the internet. Bye forever.


BEST ALBUM

Interpol – Turn On The Bright Lights 10th Anniversary Edition

So I'll stop just short of saying that 2012 seemed like a lousy year for new records. There was a veritable treasure trove of “stand-out tracks” to be sure, but no full albums that I sincerely plan on listening to again, beginning-to-end, a year from now, much less feel like writing a whole fucking paragraph about. (Maybe Hot Chip.) Bright Lights, on the other hand, is a record I would gladly listen to again and again and even write a paragraph about a decade later – so I'm glad they reissued it and gave me an excuse to openly've had that shit on repeat. It was from beginning-to-end an excellent record; at once indifferent and sentimental, cool and urgent, sounding like the love-child of Joy Division and Gang of Four. And its 2002 release took the incipient, New Indie Scene implications of contemporaries The Strokes and White Stripes to an eloquent and stylistic Next Level. The band is still trying to deal with the fact that they'll never match or top this album, but they're very aware of its impact. The re-release edition features a ton of b-sides and rarities previously only available in poorly-labeled Limewire format, presumably offered as a metaphorical handjob to fans, as a thank-you for all the literal handjobs their fans (I'm educated guessing) gave them.



Honorable Mention
Hot Chip – In Our Heads

Hot Chip is a pretty good band. Most of their previous work has exhibited repeat-playability, staying-power and name-recognition. With In Our Heads, they really didn't have to try too hard to move a couple records and keep their rent paid a bit longer. But they DID because they are TRUE gentlemen. It wasn't a White Album, but then again it wasn't a White Album year (there's only been a few of those ever). However, Hot Chip did all the things that a band at their level should be doing – ameliorate their sound, increase production slightly, and consistently deliver on songwriting – and they did that stuff well. Anyway, I clearly don't have anything specific to say about this record other than that I'm listening to it repeatedly, and that, incidentally, I could have replaced the words 'Hot Chip' with 'Grizzly Bear.' Next Category!



BEST SONG

The Growlers - “One Million Lovers”

The Growler Dudes have a propensity for putting out some neat tapes. Their recordings have a mellow, albeit profoundly haunted, surf-vibe aesthetic firmly pinned. Like going to the beach at night in sunglasses and a Freddy Krueger sweater. Attempted studio sessions with Dan Auerbach resulted in dissolution and endless postponement of their next release, but this song was a much welcomed peace offering in Q3 2012. And, to be fair, I doubt Auerbach would have thought to throw that much panned, slapback delay on that snare track towards the end. Hashtag: Got your back, Growlers, wherever you might be doing drugs tonight.



Honorable Mention
Ariel Pink - “Baby”

From the idiosyncratic bedroom pop of his early tapes, to the reverb-drown, mood-scores of the Paw Tracks series, to the surprisingly polished hipster anthems of Before Today, the musical evolution of Ariel Pink has taken some strange turns. 2012's Mature Themes was more of the Different Same. Even having at one point committed to a study of his 24+ hour catalog (don't ask), I didn't recognize the artist behind the standout track “Baby” when I first heard it. I could've mistaken it for Captain Beefheart performing “So Glad” with Otis Redding's band, with a healthy dose of Beck's rendition of “Only Have Eyes For You” thrown in for good measure. Or vice vice vice versa.



BEST SHOW

Santigold - Town Ballroom 5/26/12

I was blown away by Santogold's 2008 debut, but struggled to get into a lot of the stuff she released after changing the “o” to an “i”. So I wasn't planning on attending this show until fellow buffaBLOGGER Cliff Parks Jr. offered to get me in for free (“thanks dude!”). Musically, the group seamlessly melded punk, dance, and, I guess, world music into an indelibly catatonic and catchy whole. Imagine if Timbaland gave a bunch of Devo remixes to MIA and the result was released by Mad Decent. But the salient things about the Town Ballroom performance were the Stop Making Sense-esque choreography and the backing band that looked like concierges from an exotic, imperialised vacation resort. You couldn't avert your eyes – let alone ears – even when your sick dance moves required it.



Honorable Mention
Thee Oh Sees/Ty Segall - Town Ballroom 9/25/12

Another show I miraculously got into for free – funny how free shit tastes so much better – thanks for all the help this year, Promoters. Anyway, I couldn't describe Thee Oh Sees better than buffaBLOGGER Mike Torsell, so I'm just going to direct-quote him:

"At one point, a friend ran up to me to tell me this music was 'terrifying.' ...Despite, in a certain sense, their pop sensibilities, there is a definite sinister undertone to this music. The heavy guitars become droning over time, leaving you tensely waiting on a final climax to each song. In some cases this occurs and the result is cathartic and in other cases it just continues until petering out, leaving a sense of tension to carry over to the next song. This remaining tension never really clears out, even when the build up leads to something. This trance like quality to the music made the show quite memorable."

So yeah, so there's that. I had a nice time except that one of my friends got in a fight there, and I got punched real hard by a lady because she thought I was hitting on her girlfriend (it's called “There's a moshpit behind me, Shithead.”), and my double-fist pints turned into a soaked and torn faux-leather jacket, and my glasses got 100% destroyed, and I lost my car keys, and I don't remember a single second of Ty Segall's set. But I woke up in my own bed the next day, great show!!



OK that's it.
steve gordon
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Album Review: Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Mature Themes



Ariel Pink’s transformation from lo-fi outsider to toast of the indie town has happened seemingly in the blink of an eye.  He’d been toiling away, mostly in obscurity, since the late 90’s releasing small numbers of home-recorded tapes here and there.  But, after he began recording with Haunted Graffiti things changed for the L.A. native.  Pink and his mates were signed to 4AD in 2009 and a year later they released Before Today, an album that reached by far the greatest number of listeners to date.  It was a record that paid big dividends, most notably in the form of ‘Round and Round,’ a truly magnificent song.  With Mature Themes, Ariel Pink and his Haunted Graffiti are back for more weird psychedelic pop that pushes your typical understanding of just what accessible is.

The love of 70’s AM pop that coursed through Before Today is still thoroughly entrenched on Mature Themes, and one need look no further than the sun kissed flourish of ‘Only In My Dreams’, a tune that bleeds the sound of California.  The easy listening vibe comes through on cheesy synth pop of ‘Symphony of the Nymph’, ‘Farewell American Primitive’ and ‘Pink Slime’ as well. 

Pink’s nature as an outsider is much more apparent here though, and whereas Before Today seemed toned down, perhaps intentionally, the weird on Mature Themes is turned all the way up to 11.  An easy point of reference for tracks like ‘Kinski Assassin’, ‘Schnitzel Boogie’, and ‘Live it Up’ is fellow Californian Frank Zappa.

Listeners searching for that ‘Round and Round’ moment will be pleased by the final track of the record.  Pink and Co.’s cover of Donnie and Joe Emerson’s ‘Baby,’ which features L.A. beatmeister DāM-FunK, is a blue-eyed soul stunner and the perfect cherry on top of this sundae. 

Mature Themes can be a challenge from time to time, but it never feels complacent, always searching for new and exciting ways to make things just a little more bizarre.

Grade: B+



Steve Dobek

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Top 10 August Album Releases


Yes, we've reached August. And while the summer is fleeting past, there's still plenty of time for new music to find it's way to your ear canals and then to any subsequent barbecues, frisbee golf tournaments, or Sunday afternoon naps. Let's face it though, this has already been such a substantial year for new music; I still find myself catching up on past releases. Just wait 'til December when we come out with our "Best of 2012" lists. It's going to be insanely difficult.
10. Niki and The Dove - Instinct
Niki and The Dove are Malin Dahlström and Gustav Karlöf of Stockholm, Sweden. The electro-pop duo, who formed in February 2010, were signed by Sub Pop late last year and have released their debut record, Instinct, today. The folks at Sub Pop have explained their sound as being “...full of magic and light but with an unsettling darkness hidden beneath the surface. It’s pop music but a world away from the production line aesthetics of much modern chart music.” There’s really no better way to describe these guys sonically, especially after listening to their track “Tomorrow” as it begins with Dahlström's brittle, cutting vocals and slowly builds to a spellbinding chorus via organ blips and a rustling electro-drum roll. You can watch the video for "Tomorrow" here, which consists of Dahlström flying through space, and landing on a distant planet that resembles earth.
9. Poor Moon - Poor Moon
Way back in March Poor Moon actually topped this list with their debut EP, Illusion. The 5 song EP was good, but didn’t exactly live up to the wild expectations I had for it, which were probably a little premature in the first place. So sorry Shins, you deserved that #1 spot... But in good fun I’m giving these guys another sporting chance, but certainly not a #1 spot. I think the reason Poor Moon gets and deserves my attention so much is because two of the members, Christian Wargo and Casey Wescott, did such an incredible job as members of Fleet Foxes, who released one of the best albums of 2011 with Helplessness Blues. And while Poor Moon doesn’t maintain every sly attribute of the afforementioned Foxes, they do grasp the wistful folk-factors in songs like “Anyplace” which stick to desperate harmonies and twangy telecasters. The self-titled LP is due out 8/27 via Sub Pop.
8. Teengirl Fantasy - Tracer
Ohio dream-pop duo Teengirl Fantasy who released their 2010 debut 7AM, are back with their sophomore effort Tracer, which will be out on August 21 via True Panther. A couple singles from the new record have been released including "End" which starts with harrowing keys and gives off similar effervescence as a Strawberry Jam era Animal Collective track. Listen to "End" here. 


7. Jessie Ware - Devotion 
Before releasing a strand of singles this past year including, “Running”, “110%” and “Wildest Moments”, Jessie Ware was known little more as a contributing backing voice on the futuristic London producer SBTRKT’s works. Ware herself might have been previously unaware of her songwriting and singing talents which bind sensuous melodies and seizing pop vocals into dazzling focus. Her songs are catchy and easy to dance to; they possess diva-esque attributes that tow the line of commercial, but intelligently so. Her debut album Devotion is out on 8/20 via PMR. 


6. Anthony and The Johnsons - Cut The World 
Chances are you’ve already read a review for Anthony and the Johnsons’ new record Cut the World, which was released today. This is either due to my lack of punctuality or the amount of music/media blogs you follow on Twitter. Either way, Cut The World looks to be an equisite piece of music-making. It's out now on Secretly Canadian.
5. Matthew Dear - Beams 
When you listen to Matthew Dear’s latest track, “Her Fantasy” you relaize why his album is so faultlessly entitled Beams. Better yet, the music video might actually do the title more justice as you're melodically tripping-out over your morning coffee. This dude is seriously strange. And seriously, so very talented. His 2010 LP Black City was a critical success for all the same dark, fascinating reasons. You can pre-order it now over at Matthew Dear's website and expect it at your local record store on 8/27 via Ghostly International.
4. Dan Deacon - America 
The jack-of-all-trades, composer and experimental electro-pop artist, Dan Deacon, is back with his latest and tenth LP, America, which will be released on Domino records on 8/28. The Baltimore musician has always had a knack for curating peculiar, uber-creative music, but what might be most compelling about Deacon is his ability to sync his music to video, so much that he even wrote the film score to Francis Ford Coppola’s Twixt. His latest track “True Thrush” presents a compelling music video where Deacon and members of Baltimore’s Wham City art collective, among other groups, play a drawing game similar to ‘telephone’, only using video. Read the introduction at the beginning of the video and you’ll see what I mean. Watch it here.
3. Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Mature Themes 
On 4AD’s website, the record label has described Ariel Pink’s new album as “Vomit on fine Italian marble. A jet-shot of beautiful glowing puke on something recently mopped and shined.” As disgusting as that sounds, could we expect anything less from an artist who notoriously plays his armpits? All grotesque images aside, Ariel Pink has proved his musicianship over and again, and is coming off his sensational 2010 release, Before Today, which was named to many end-of-year lists. Now Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti are back with more lo-fi lovin' with Mature Themes, which might be the group’s cachtiest yet, especially on the latest cuts, “Only In My Dreams” and “Baby”. The record is out 8/20.
2. Yeasayer - Fragrant World 
Yeasayer has been making quite the stir at buffaBLOG as of late. Coming off a unanimously stunning performance at Town Ballroom, the Brooklyn four-piece is only increasing their kinetic energy, fuled by laser lights and wild, electro-world-music rythms as they ready their third studio collection, Frangrant World, out 8/20 via Secretly Canadian. While those who attended the show probably heard most of the 11 tracks from the latest LP, there is still time to pre-order the record for those of you who weren’t able to come out last week. Listen to the first cut off the record "Henrietta" here.
1. Wild Nothing - Nocturne 
I admit it. I’m in love with the music of Wild Nothing, aka 22-year-old Virginia (no, not Brooklyn) native Jack Tatum’s hazed-out, Instagramized indie-rock jams. His 2010 debut full-length, Gemini, is up there (for me) as one of the best albums of the past 5 years. When tracks like “Summer Holiday” and  “Chinatown” come blaring through car speakers on the ride to work, Tatum's freewheeling, reverb-loaded vocals and guitar buzz could make one forget all stressful obligations and play eternal hooky, driving 'cross endless senery. It’s no surprise that Tatum is back with more of the same stylings with the latest track, “Shadow,” exhibiting a similar lo-fi coo, but set amid a steady kick drum and sirens of droning guitar riffs. Wild Nothing is currently touring with a group that captures a very similar style, DIIV, who recently released their latest LP, Oshin, also via Captured Tracks. Nocturne is out Augiust 27. Find out how to get a free poster from the band and pre-order your copy here.


Tom Dennis
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Listener's Digest: June 1-7



You know, you think you have a column all set and ready to post and the internet just starts spewing new music at you on the last day. I went to bed last night with 3 tracks all set for this week. They were solid tracks: a catchy tune from The-Dream, new Laetitia Sadier, and an interesting Four-Tet song to round everything out and hopefully get you to think my taste was "eclectic," and "wide-ranging." So, like I said, I went to bed with all of this ready. What happens when I wake up? A new track from Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti? New Jens Lekman? Now I have to make all of these last minute additions. This is all very rude of the internet...all...very...rude.

Theatrics aside, here are 5 great new songs, released between June 1 and 7.


The-Dream w/Pusha - T - "Dope Bitch:" The-Dream consistently turns out what I like to call "serious jams," which is a very unprofessional term for, "really great pop songs." This time, he has teamed up with Clipse's Pusha-T, for this smooth tune that will probably be in my head for the next several days. Perfect for blasting out of your car, or, carrying around a boombox on your bike. Really, whatever your means of conveyance you choose. No one knows when The-Dream's next album is coming out, don't even bother.



Laetitia Sadier - "Find Me the Pulse of the Universe:" Sadier, lead singer of Stereolab, released the first single from her latest album, Silencio!, which will be out June 24. Fans of Stereolab will find familiar territory in this track, with Sadier singing urbane lyrics over lush instrumentation. 



Four-Tet - "128 Harps:" First thing first, definitely not 128 harps on this track. I imagine that would sound more harp filled. Also, harps are pretty expensive so I doubt anyone has that kind of budget. With that out of the way, Four-Tet has released a lovely new track. A warped bassline backs an alternating harp vocal sample, making the tune somehow simple and intricate at the same time. Good stuff.


Jens Lekman -"Erica America:" Set to release his first album in 5 years this fall, Jens Lekman is back with a new wonderfully orchestrated and wistful song. Featuring vocals from Melbourne singer, Sophie Brous, this new song is more downbeat, with Lekman declaring, "Summer is exhausting." Not exactly an encouraging sentiment this early in June. We here at Listener's Digest hope Lekman cheers up soon.



Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - "Baby:" The first song off their follow up to one of my favorite records of the last 5 years. Ariel Pink returns with this Donnie and Joe Emerson cover. Soulful, "Baby" features significantly improved production from anything Pink has done in the past. The new album, Mature Themes, will be released on August 20.



Well, that is all I have for this week. The new Grizzly Bear song is pretty great and you should check that out if you have some time too, but you probably already knew that. Also, I am working on a better logo for this column. Check back next week for cool new graphics and tunes.


Michael Torsell

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Best of 2011 Staff Picks: Steven


Favorite Album of 2011

Thee Oh Sees – Castlemania: There are so many good things about Thee Oh Sees: an insane rate of musical output, notorious live performances, profoundly debauched aesthetics, and a propensity for gradual innovation despite inherent stylistic simplicity. The group started a decade or so ago as the artistic vehicle for guitarist/vocalist/flutist John Dwyer. As the full group slowly solidified, they became a wailing, garage-psych powerhouse, leveling both the strongest of minds and the dingiest of dives. A predominantly solo effort from Dwyer, Castlemania was only the first of two full-lengths Thee Oh Sees released in 2011. But it reminded us that, one: you don't have to be into grindcore to appreciate grotesque, green monster album art motifs; and two: Dwyer can write some catchy, bad-trip pop, even if the rest of the OCs aren't around.




Honorable Mention

The Found - III: I had wanted to avoid local shout-outs, because there are some dope local acts that could easily dominate this list. I really spent more time attending local shows and listening to Buffalo records this year than national ones, and among the many highlights was The Found's third record, released a few months back. Each member of this band might be the city's nastiest at their respective instruments, and this 17-track helping of funk-infused power prog is so head-bending... listening to it is like finding out Iron Butterfly is your real father. All the members. You know what I mean.

Walking on Fire by thefoundsound


Favorite Song of 2011


“Witchhunt Suite for WWIII” by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti : I sorta feel like it's cheating to pick “Witchhunt Suite” as my favorite “song” of 2011. For one, the track is just a revisit of a 2006 basement tape. Second, it's more of a sixteen-minute opus than a song. But even the artist's apex release, 2010's Before Today, was primarily a full-band rehashing of Pink's earlier solo recordings – even the single “Round and Round” was just an updated treatment of the old demo “Frontman/ Hold On (I'm Calling).” “Witchhunt Suite” is an allzu-Americana-impaired reflection on our post-9/11, collective brain damage, framed within a disfiguring mirror of hyper-media saturation in The West's Consumerist, Late 20th Century Zenith. And how can you do that in under fifteen minutes? ...Call a sitter right now and watch the video to see what I mean.


Honorable Mention

"Shut Up" by Jhameel: A fellow buffaBLOGGER brought this joint to my attention over the summer, and all of my mixtapes were forever changed. With its sturdy disco beat, catchy hooks, and that gnarly Jhameel scream, I haven't been able to find a body that won't start involuntarily dancing to this jam.

Shut Up by jhameel


Favorite Show of 2011


Purity Ring, Love Scenes, Early Attic at Mohawk Place (August 23, 2011): I'd hated hard on this band for a while before the Mohawk Place show. With a half-million Soundcloud hits and a bevy of blog-love before they ever even performed, I figured Purity Ring was all hype and I planned to just sit this one out. But when they started their Mohawk Place set, I ate my own words. Heavy glitch beats, devastating lights, and banter that grounded the experience with an integral, saccharine innocence. Even if Corin Roddick's light-bulb-and-pipe “device” didn't actually generate sound – and was just for looks as I semi-suspect – it was still an impressive, compelling show. Support from local pop duo Love Scenes was an adept pairing, but I missed Early Attic's opening set, because, for once, a Buffalo show started on time.



Honorable Mention:


Laughing Eye Weeping Eye, Cinnamon Aluminum, YesYes HeavenTongue at Soundlab (June 11, 2011): This show reminded me of why I first fell in love with Soundlab; suspiciously low turnouts, uncomfortably open-minded vibes, and deeply unsettling music projects make for a perfect hotbed of weirdness. LEWE stranged things up with their circuit-bending chant opera, followed by an acoustic set by rapid-fire poet YesYes, who was surrounded by a cult of vocal accompanists, and the night ended with the synth-jungle trio Cinnamon Aluminum, who were joined by friends for a rousing set of brain-scraping pop. Afterwards, I felt as though I'd beheld the maddening machinations of Nyarlathotep, and spilled, with a newfound schizophrenia, out into the yawning mouth of oblivion that is the Buffalo streets.

Moksha by YesYesMichaelErsing


steve gordon
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