Ariel Pink

It didn't come with a download code :( I'll email Mexican Summer and try to get one, song is dope

p4k likes it

my LP is in the mail, excited to hear it

Glad that we're finally listening to the proper record/higher quality files than that terrible leak

halfway thru my 2nd full listen... really different from Mature Themes and pom pom, which were very immediate... this record feels like it's covered in gauze, in that way it's more similar to his lo-fi records than his previous three. The production is really interesting, spread out & immersive - also the songs are so much less 'wacky' for lack of a better word. The melodies are more traditional. A world away from "White Freckles" and "Pink Slime." More than anything, this record is just further proof of his incredible songwriting abilities. This is his Brill Building record. Nothing stands out except "Time to Live." It feels so coherent as a whole, but song for song not sure I dig this one as much as MT or PP. More guitar, less synths. But "Time to Live" is pretty amazing.

My LP came with a bonus disc with four b-sides, all pretty good:
"Nighttime is Great!"
"Lil' Birdie Told Me"
"Non-Sequitur Segues"
"May the Music Never Die Again"

This gets so much better on repeated listens. "Death Patrol" and "Dedicated to Bobby Jameson" are so beautiful. "Death Patrol" starts off like a pom pom song, juicy clavinet chords panning back and forth... and then it goes into that chorus... so sad & melancholy... the melancholy on this record is so specific and nuanced, the whole thing feels like a peek into another world, just like those upthread talked about The Doldrums: "the genius is you're imagining with him." it just the lyrics, or the consciously straightforward & impersonal songwriting, there's just this veil of sadness over the whole album... and all of that makes for something much easier to project onto and imagine, get lost in... there was no mystery in the 4AD records. and how these songs just blossom listen to listen, new details reveal themselves... as much as he's trying to downplay it, I really think this is a major work, and time is very important... my view has already changed so much since last night...

mp3s of the above 4
https://ufile.io/xlmty

https://i.imgur.com/Vyp7jLe.jpg

Oh sick, thank you!!

Been hunting for rips of the Japanese CD for ages, anyone know? Has these songs on there.

return to form production wise for sure. bubblegum dreams has gotta be the worst thing he's ever done!

Still trying to get into this one, definitely prefer Pom Pom so far.

i definitely prefer it over pom pom just because it isn't anywhere as annoying as most of that. 'time to live' is the clear highlight but i really like the b-side 'ode to the goat' too

i like that the production is a more listenable version of his early lo-fi sound, but it also makes tracks blend together a little more than they should? still need to spend more time with it

haven't listened to the bonus EP yet

Ode to the Goat might be my favorite out of all of these

New album's my favorite thing he's done since the original classics.

In fact, it's the only album I've liked since House Arrest

I think it's his worst album. Can't get into it.

Is “Time to Live” an accidental ripoff of “video killed the radio star”?

vocal melody seems like an intentional tribute. as discussed, he does his lyrics and vocals last and hates doing it. it's really apparent on the last 2 records.

it's totally intentional, and of a piece with other musical quotes on the record: "Light My Fire" guitar lead at the end of the title track, "Bubblegum Dreams" = "Son of a Gun" by the Vaselines, "Feels Like Heaven" = obvious Cure homage/pastiche. I think he's tweaking a signature aspect of his lo-fi records: instead of the references & influences being just out of reach & hard to place, he's made them impossible to ignore. Also in line with his declaration that this record has "no theme" or narrative. He's elided his persona so much that instantly famous pop melodies slip in unadulterated.

Something else I've been wondering about: what is the other verse melody in "Time to Live" referencing? This part:

"Winter solstice (rise as the snow's coming)
Before life is over (rise up and look for it)"

almost certainly not Bullfrog Green by The Boo Radleys but that's what it reminded me of

(mentioned this elsewhere, but) Another Weekend borrows the open from William Bell and Judy Clay’s Private Number (beautifully).

I can understand how "Bubblegum Dreams" might be irritating. Though I do like that the verses bring to mind some Let's Active song that may or may not actually exist.

also w/r/t this one being more similar to the original classics than any of the 4AD albums: there's no lyric sheet included. there are several songs (the chorus of "Death Patrol" for example) where I have no idea what the fuck he's saying. like, I wondered for years what the words were in the chorus of "Every Night I Die at Miyagis." I called into KXLU when Ariel was playing some of his old tapes almost two years ago, and I asked him what the words were in that song. it's "off in the world, off in the world of girls, i choke - i'm lost for words." anyway that's another thing that distinguishes DTBJ from the 4AD albums & reminds me of his old records.

god "I Wanna Be Young" is so good. one of the few old songs he's redone that's better than the original

I like “Time to Live” but I think 50% of my enjoyment is the “video killed the radiostar” melody in the vocal verse and the other half is the bassline. I could do without the opening 2 minutes of looped low fi noise in the beginning tho they sort of ruin the song for me... i find myself skipping them everytime.

A few songs feel a bit Pom Pom-lite, Time To Live being Not Enough Violence, Santa being Black Ballerina

really like his weird accent for "Santa's in the Closet" (also the mix is really nice, the vocals have this sheen to them that fits w the synth sweeps). its a bit DAF or Die Toedliche Doris or Trio or something, fake German industrial. love it!

i love the noise bit on time to live, not enough violence is great but time to live is better. i'm starting to think that this might be close to his best album, just for its focus and quality control.

I love both, but I think I prefer Not Enough Violence by a hair... Time to Live is pretty amazing though... just the density of it, did someone on here describe it as Buggles meets "Sister Ray"? maybe that was a review I read... @PaulMTA i agree, good point about Santa/Black Ballerina, i never would've made the connection bc Santa is such a throwaway and Black Ballerina is imo one of his best songs, & one that stands alone, i can't think of another song of his that sounds like it, or even has the same vibe...

The new album's biggest problem to me is that it sounds like the classic case of a single album having to follow a classic double (with no bad songs IMO) which doesn't quite live up to the same standard, treads familiar ground and feels more streamlined - ultimately the actual music is excellent to me, but following Pom Pom it just can't compete. I imagine I'd feel differently had the albums been released in reverse order

So I'm only saying it's disappointing as it didn't equal or come close to bettering one of the best albums in recent years.

this is my fav thing AP has done since the classix i wish Jorge and him would make a whole album like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vjf5O4bzGuU

yeah Paul I know what you mean. but there really isn't a great way to follow up a classic double album. I think he did the best he could - he's not treading water, & the erasure of persona makes sense following Pom Pom. it's just a solid album with some great songs, & a couple duds. but I still really, really like this album - it blooms & melodies suddenly pop out two dozen listens in...

Chloë Sevigny is a fan:

“I have a hard time even going out and listening to music if I don’t like the sound system now, it’s really awful,” she adds. Her preference is to relive the songs and albums of her youth from the comfort of home, having mostly given up on buying music released in the new millennium—though releases by psychedelic folkie Mira Billotte of White Magic, witch-house misfits Salem, and super freak Ariel Pink are exceptions.

..............Salem???

Kurt , have you heard the other one they did? Call to Ring
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UmFeWSuDja8

xxxp I love that Jorge Elbrecht collab, too. Now that you mention it the new album reminds me of it a little

i have heard call to ring its not that good

only time i've seen AP live Jorge was in his band. they did "Hang on to Life," this was a few months before the single came out. I remember watching Jorge for most of "Menopause Man" - again, you don't realize how complicated/convoluted AP's songs/parts are until you see someone doing them

also, dude shreds

kenny is their secret weapon when it comes to live performance but yah jorge rips

see vintage ilxor gushing over jorge here Lansing-Dreiden-The Incomplete Triangle:Album Of The Year?

just found this, Japanese CD bonus track not included on the 12" picture disc:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lso2JX2K2U

ah shit, wrong vid, here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRjyR1v9niI

i put on some of the older records last night and while they were enjoyable there were a lot of tracks that felt like clear filler. he has gotten better at songwriting and i far prefer the new material. not sure if the songs themselves are better or the arrangements themselves are more interesting. used to be a lot of guitars whereas now he's using synths all over the place and imo it results in more memorable instrumental lines and hooks.

by older records i mean the lo-fi pre-studio stuff. the highs are still really good but there was a lot just coasting on sound.

I feel the same about those old records, Adam. I made a ‘Greatest Hits’ that fits on a CD-R years ago that I still listen to regularly:

1. Hardcore Pops Are Fun
2. Immune to Emotion
3. Are You Gonna Look After My Boys?
4. Credit
5. Every Night I Die at Miyagis
6. Politely Declined
7. Among Dreams
8. For Kate I Wait
9. Baby Comes Around
10. Interesting Results
11. House Arrest
12. Jules Lost His Jewels
13. Artifact
14. Life in LA
15. The Doldrums
16. Gray Sunset
17. Getting High in the Morning
18. Scared Famous
19. Loverboy
20. Alisa
21. My Molly

Still so much gold I left out though...

if that's the same flappy cdr you posted a coupe years ago it bangs

thanks! yeah it more or less is, swapped out a few but it’s basically the same.

Not as good as No Real Friend but My Whole Life Story from that first Holy Shit album was another fantastic collaboration.

I called into KXLU when Ariel was playing some of his old tapes almost two years ago, and I asked him what the words were in that song. it's "off in the world, off in the world of girls, i choke - i'm lost for words." anyway that's another thing that distinguishes DTBJ from the 4AD albums & reminds me of his old records.

Great to hear those 10" songs. "Nighttime is great" reminds me of this (for example the sound effects):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNoUgulTA8M