In fits and starts (dribs and drabs? bits and bobbles?) springtime wends its merry way to Morgantown. Sparkling blue skies, sunny breezes, you know the drill. I just bought a pair of white ray bans and a skimpy swimsuit.
And most exciting of all, two of my most anticipated 2010 releases have leaked, and they are just as dreamy and summery as you would both hope and expect! Ariel Pink’s 4AD debut and Beach Fossils official full-length. Former one-man bands, both artists have benefited from the permanent involvement of their touring musicians and from cleaned-up (but not antiseptic) production choices. My favorite MP3s from both releases are streaming below.
Everyone knows this reasonably unimportant fact: Ariel Pink was a one-man ”shit-gaze” phenomenom back when Psychedelic Horseshit was a gleam in the Siltbreeze eye. He made his own homemade sound effects, buried melodies under tape hiss, cut off those melodies at awkward moments, jumped radically between time signatures, and was generally perceived of as an “outsider artist,” despite growing up in a predominantly Jewish enclave adjacent to Beverly Hills.
This story hasn’t rung true for a while, though. A little over a year ago Ariel Pink broke with the narrative by releasing Can’t Hear My Eyes, a single on Mexican Summer that signaled his intention to move more towards at least mid-fi recording. The hazy 70s vibe of the Paw Tracks reissue releases remains but is no longer obscured by idiosyncratic production. Before Today includes a re-recording of Can’t Hear My Eyes, with minimal changes from last year, but it’s the new tracks that really shine. Round and Round has already been released (and is amazing) as a single but Beverly Kills and Bright Lit Blue Skies are my personal standouts. Give these a listen–in terms of atmosphere, they most remind me of Under The Bushes, Under The Stars-era Guided By Voices, filtered through instrumentation choices that leave it sounding like something you’d encounter in a dentist’s waiting room, sitting with the late afternoon sun streaming in through the vertical blinds.
- Ariel Pink: Beverly Kills Ariel Pink: Beverly Kills
- Ariel Pink: Bright Lit Blue Skies Ariel Pink: Bright Lit Blue Skies
Beach Fossils, by contrast, are a more straightforward pleasure: if Ariel Pink makes music to get high to and play D&D on the front porch, Beach Fossils makes music for the moments spent chasing down that spare towel before catching your ride to the beach. While Beach Fossils have never been notably lo-fi, they’ve toned down their perhaps-excessive use of vocal reverb (another tiresome detail noted by every reviewer) while retaining the killer pop hooks of their singles, all of which are also included on this LP. Two previously unreleased standouts are below.
- Beach Fossils: Twelve Roses Beach Fossils: Twelve Roses
- Beach Fossils: Sometimes Beach Fossils: Sometimes
