Ariel Pink has had a long career for being a relatively unknown musician. His early claim to fame was his extensive cache of home recordings that would wind up in the hands of L.A. based musicians. Pink hit his big break in 2010 when he released Before Today, a critically acclaimed album that put him on the lo-fi map. Now, two years later, Ariel Pink comes back with Mature Themes, grittier counterpart to his previous effort. While Before Today was not a particularly poppy album, it showed a sensibility that Pink never really explored. Mature Themes certainly lacks that sense of melody and song, and may be a little too chaotic and bizarre for the casual fan. As Mature Themes moves along, it becomes more apparent that this Pink trying to utilize a bigger budget to return to the sound of his home recordings. He does it well. The songs are loose and erratic, but are well produced. Each noise has its place and purpose.
Lyrically, Mature Themes is dark and dry. It is not mature, but does dabble into some taboo words and phrases; Pink makes references of masturbation and G-Spots. The lyrics are completely nonsensical, and are pointless to dissect. That is the plan though. Ariel Pink does not try to be convoluted and opaque, he just is. The irrational lyrics combine with the music to create a theme of confusion. In the end, throughout the landscape of noise, Mature Themes comes together, and shows that Ariel Pink's bout with success was by no means a fluke.
No comments:
Post a Comment