Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti Doldrums Genres:Alternative Rock, Pop, Rock After years of recording in relative seclusion in the hills of Los Angeles , Ariel Pink (the first non-Animal Collective member on the Paw Tracks roster) makes his official Paw Tracks debut with "The Doldrums". Originally... more » a handmade CD-R release a couple years back, "The Doldrums" by Ariel Pink?s Haunted Grafitti was discovered by the Animal Collective during one of their west coast tours and became an immediate favorite. Recording at home with only a guitar, keyboard, and 8-track (the drum sounds are all unbelievably created with his vocals), Ariel Pink blends Lite FM and warped lo-fi pop into something beautiful and confusing, yet highly addictive.« less
After years of recording in relative seclusion in the hills of Los Angeles , Ariel Pink (the first non-Animal Collective member on the Paw Tracks roster) makes his official Paw Tracks debut with "The Doldrums". Originally a handmade CD-R release a couple years back, "The Doldrums" by Ariel Pink?s Haunted Grafitti was discovered by the Animal Collective during one of their west coast tours and became an immediate favorite. Recording at home with only a guitar, keyboard, and 8-track (the drum sounds are all unbelievably created with his vocals), Ariel Pink blends Lite FM and warped lo-fi pop into something beautiful and confusing, yet highly addictive.
CD Reviews
Goodbye horses
Monigan Addiman | NYC | 03/17/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"While everyone's mining the 70s and 80s for nostalgic purposes or in this self-conscious, tongue-in-cheek kind of way, it's refreshing to hear kids who grew up then just sort of expressing how that was. At the Whitney this year there was a room full of Super Mario clouds advancing across the walls with this 8-bit soundtrack over, and it made you remember how weird it felt to spend an entire afternoon just in that small square world. Ariel Pink reminds me of how MTV felt. I didn't have cable, and so I got it in glimpses from friends' older sisters, and it is in my head this jumble of synths and halated light and cheap drum loops and effete young men with lined eyes. It's like Ariel and I had the same wallpaper."
The Doldrums
qwff | italy | 04/16/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"When I first heard tracks from this album on Stuart Maconie's "Freak Zone" show on BBC, I knew I had to have it. It sounded different from everything that I had been listening in the past. A fan of hardcore diy, Ariel Pink creates an unique sound based on lo-fi and classic pop. Another reviewer says that it sounds "as if a pillow was pressed against the stereo", but I think that is an essential part of Ariel's style. You see sudden bursts of beauty but you can't take it or control it. It is like if the music came, distorted, from a neighbor party to which you are not invited."
Hauntingly Beautiful
Music Lover from Wisconsin | Wisconsin, USA | 04/26/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I got this record because a recent SPIN review gave it an A. This record is the kind of music you'd listen to while painting or writing poetry. This is not happy dance music, but it is so unique and different. The low-fi effect can get a little annoying, but hey, just take it as it is and get your creative juices flowing."
Mellow, fuzz blanket radio frequency.
Pickles Merryweather | 03/09/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Nostalgia infused haze of sound. It reminds me of when I was a kid and I'd carry my boom box outside to pick up far away radio stations. Move the antenna around for mixed signals. Floating, hissing, morphing vocals. Each listen makes me feel like I'm moving through time. R. Stevie Moore meets The Cure!"
Aosudfy
Matthew Teardrop | Parts Unknown | 12/02/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"i downloaded like two songs from this and i was like "these songs are great but the file must be messed up or something because it sounds all weird." then i bought it and it sounded EXACTLY the same. anyway. its weird. but the songs are good. and its gonna take years to find a song catchy enough to replace "for kate i wait" in my head. buy it, fools."
