Ariel Pink - pom pom

Ariel Pink

pom pom

18 November 2014

4AD

 

3.5 stars out of 5

 

 

Ariel Pink, if you’re a fan, is a mad genius. If you’re not a fan, he’s almost unbearable. A bit like blue cheese. No one knows the exact number of albums Pink has released, but it numbers somewhere in the hundreds (I may be exaggerating). Pom pom is his first since 2012’s Mature Themes, and it’s brilliant (if you’re a fan) and bloody awful (if you’re not). Pink isn’t going to win over anyone from the other side with his sprawling new double LP, but he is going to immensely please his pre-existing ones.

 

There’s the ‘80s Iron Maiden vibe of “Four Shadows,” which throws every metal cliché at you without containing any actual guitars. “Not Enough Violence” is the best song that The Sisters of Mercy ever wrote, seeing Pink romp through the goth rock genre with as much wide-eyed glee as a puppy rushing out into the back yard to lick up every last snowflake of its first winter snowfall. “Nude Beach a Go-Go” is The Beach Boys scoring Hot to Stuff a Wild Bikini, minus the bikini. All of it is quite ridiculous, and deadly seriously so. A lyrical example: “What kinda sex are you talkin’ about? It’s time that we scream and shout!” Got the idea? Good. And then there’s the ode to Jell-O, seeing Pink take a page from the playbook of B.A. Johnston. (Well, Johnston would deep fry the Jell-O, but that’s a philosophical discussion we don’t have time for here.)

 

So, to recap… If you’ve heard Pink before and weren’t much impressed, stay away. If you’re a devoted fan, pom pom will likely become the one album that you can’t live without. Every last corner of its two discs is filled with mad invention and an intense love for cheese (and strippers). If you’ve never heard Pink before, you must ask yourself the following question before you proceed: “Which do I value more: a good laugh, or the respect of my girlfriend/boyfriend?”

 

reviewed by Richard Krueger