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Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Ariel "Pink" Rosenberg, who had already
self-produced several home-made cassettes, started
his "Haunted Graffiti" project with the
double-CD House Arrest/ Loverboy (Ballbearings Pinatas, 2003 - Paw Tracks, 2006).
The general concept was simply a lo-fi revisitation of the golden age of
the Sixties.
House Arrest is not terribly interesting when it sounds like yet another
Beatles cover band rehearsing in a garage (Hardcore Pops Are Fun)
or when it mimicks pathetic easy-listening arias (West Coast Calamities).
Pink truly excels in the more upbeat numbers that resurrect the
anthemic hooks and jangly exuberance of folk-rock (Interesting Results)
or the romantic march-like ditties
a` la Turtles
(Helen).
A more experimental thrust yields funny alien creatures that are reminiscent
of Frank Zappa's songs:
Flying Circles, an odd hybrid of synth-pop and doo-wop, and the
dub-voodoobilly of Almost Waiting.
Also engaging are the
hard-rocking psychedelic parody Gettin' High In The Morning and the
atmospheric Alisa.
Loverboy opted for a slicker sound, even venturing into dance clubs with
Don't Talk To Strangers (a blend of dance-punk and rap) and
She's My Girl (a new wave throwback related to
Trio's Da Da Da).
His revival project ranges from the
Farfisa-ditties of the Sixties (Loverboy, the standout) to
the emphatic melodrama of Nordic prog-rock (Poultry Head).
The rest, unfortunately, is vastly inferior, despite John Maus composing
Ghosts around Guillaume de Machaut's rondeau Rose, Liz, Printemps, Verdure.
Worn Copy (Rhystop, 2003 - Paw Tracks, 2005) sounds like a collection
of inferior leftovers from the two debut CDs, but it also marks a shift away
from the "revivalist" approach.
The lilting refrain of Trepanated Earth emerges out of
a grueling eleven-minute collage. The one of
Foilly Foilbles/GOLD follows an even more abstract preface.
Thespian City
There are nods at the new wave (Artifact) and at the disco
(The Drummer),
but too often this album sounds like
Frank Zappa with neither the humor nor the
genius, although occasionally the instrumental parts are
original and surreal
(Creepshow,
The Doldrums (2004), originally recorded in 1999, presents a
different artist, one who is less interested in mimicking the classics
and more in crafting
eerie atmospheres that have no immediate referent, such as
Strange Fires,
For Kate I Wait and especially the eleven-minute
The Ballad Of Bobby Pyn.
If Haunted Graffiti could be the manifesto of his revival art,
these more mature pieces straddle the border between genres.
Unfortunately, there is still too much filler (trivial melodies, uninspired
playing, and really bad production, which might or might not be the whole
point).
To get to the mildly entertaining Let's Build A Campfire There one
has to listen to too much crap.
Pre (Human Ear, 2006), credited to
Ariel Rosenberg's Thrash and Burn,
collects recordings from 1998.
Stranded at Two Harbors (UUAE, 2006), credited to Holy Shit,
is a collaboration.
Scared Famous (Human Ear, 2007) dispensed with the confusing
hybrids and focused on more straightforward songs, of which
Howling At The Moon is the most accessible.
The prankster of the Sixties is back in Scared Famous and Passing The Petal 2 You, but elsewhere his imitations falls flat.
Many of them, in fact, sound like
demented skits a` la Residents (Are You Gonna Look After My Boys?, Talking All The Time,
The Kitchen Club).
There is only one truly original score: Beefbud.
The seven-minute acid jam Jesus Christ Came To Me In A Dream plods along
aimlessly a bit too long.
Underground (2007, Vinyl International) resumes old recordings from
1998-99.
Oddities Sodomies Vol. 1 (Vinyl International, 2008) is performed by
a children's choir.
Pink formed a proper rock group, Haunted Graffiti, that recorded
Before Today (2010, 4AD)
abandoning the old lo-fi stance.
The instrumental funk soundtrack Hot Body Rub leads to
well-behaved tunes such as the soul ballad Round And Round,
the delicate soft-jazz elegy Can't Hear My Eyes,
and the disco shuffle Beverly Kills amid really bad memories of
vintage
Bee Gees and
Michael Jackson.
The one truly anthemic hook appears in Butt House Blondies, although
ruined by a guitar solo (ironically, given that he rarely injected solos in
his songs). The one truly shaking rhythm appears in
Revolution's A Lie, an electrifying voodoobilly worthy of the new wave.
FF>> (2010) collects recordings from 2000-2001 including the
clownish sinth-pop of Intro / Where Does The Mind Go, the
choral singalong May The Music Never Die,
the jazzy Girl In A Tree,
and especially the oneiric anthem The Kitchen Club.
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