Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti - Mature Themes
Although just about every genre of music (R.I.P. polka) is still alive and kicking thanks to the cross-experimentation and multiple-influence nature of today, it was something of a pleasant surprise to see that psychedelic rock remained dear to some band's hearts with the release of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti band's debut album (as a band), Before Today . The record fused a love of music's weirdest moments and the band's own unique eccentricities excellently, and everything down to the lo-fi fuzz about it all felt like revisiting a favourite band. Now L.A. man Ariel Pink's ninth album - the second with his concrete band of Haunted Graffiti - Mature Themes looks to build upon that largely sober and serious-faced eighth and shake it up a little. The record opens with a kind of Iron Butterfly organ melody and lyrics about battleships, Sigmund Freud and the desire to fondle someone's arse in a jacuzzi - and 'Kinski Assassin' is about as th...