Ariel Pink recently signed on with 4AD, kind of crazy he made it on this historic English indie label, but then again these kind of sound like lost tapes from the late 70's they found in the basement.
Sometime's I wonder if Ariel even really exists or if a couple of guys bought a box of 4-track tapes at a garage sale and have been releasing them ever since.
'Round and Round' is so fucking great...I haven't been disappointed by a single track from Ariel ever. How he keeps up this genius is a mystery. Not only reworking the particular sounds from that kind of ambiguous 70's 80's era, but the feel too. Even vocally...as long as he never pushes it into some kind of disco....I don't think anyone can successfully update that sound. When it hits this chorus part it's pure earnest 70's sort of electronic free love. In a weird way it's like Girl Talk without the direct references. I keep thinking I'm about to hear some song my Dad would play pop up. I looked at the billboard charts for the 70's....I don't recognize 95% of the hits...what a weird decade. Really....a mess.
I like that you have to just give in to even listen to this. You have to be in on the joke a little bit, but I wonder...so much of the sincerity comes through, it's not as over the top parody. It's a fine line...but Ariel I think is more interested in homage.
I hope to hell I can catch him at Mercury next week. I'm a little worried about seeing this live after being so into the last few albums. I don't think it would blow it completely, but really it's going to change everything. I've built him up way too much and my version of this guy just can't exist.
And the sleeve....Jesus, every time I think he might just be weird al-ing this era of music, he throws in imagery like this and that lipstick nightmare album cover and it takes it somewhere else completely.
Norman records loves it, and it's the only place I could find carrying it...hopefully with 4AD behind it, I'll actually see it down the street sooner or later.
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