Five Speed Intro: Ariel Pink
Five Speed Intro is where I write about artists I’ve heard of but who’s music I’ve never heard. I may not know anything about them outside of their name so it’s an opportunity to gain an introduction to their music with limited preconceptions. Whatever tidbits of information and gossip I have heard about them I lay out upfront. These articles are based on listening to the top 5 songs they have on Spotify.
Do you have an artist I may have heard of but who’s music I’ve never heard? Let me know in the comments.
What I Know About Ariel Pink
I think he used to date or hang out with Grimes? I’m expecting indie rock with lots of synths; maybe some electronic beats. And washed out vocals.
Side note: when Grimes was getting started wouldn’t she tour Canada and sleep in a tent along the way? That is purely badass.
Top 5 Ariel Pink Songs on Spotify at the Time of this Writing
“Baby”
Sixties soul all the way. Lots of space. This dude obviously cares about sound. Great vocals. That vocal bed reminds me that today I briefly thought deeply about textures while listening to Bonnie Raitt. Whoa wait — this song is getting way more sixties-soul than I anticipated. Like, as if we’re in Chicago, smoking a Winston in a Cadillac, letting light beams drip off our sunglasses. This is for a time when things had an odor, when people didn’t cover everything up. Do you think anyone loves you for who you are? The greatest blessing in the world is to stop covering things up. Drop the disguise.
“Lipstick”
Here it is. This is what I was expecting. Dance track, thick synth bass, ’80s drum fills, up tempo. You kind of wonder, is he a fan or being ironic? Those vocals, the phrasing is just straight ’80s. And it IS ’80s, not eighties. Makes you want to side step and snap your fingers. I always wondered about that vocal style, when the singer is kind of dead panning, zombie like. What was going on during that decade? I was born in ’81 and I remember feeling like things weren’t synthetic and our days were numbered. As if all the products we were eating were poison, but at the same time, I could just never get enough. I was in Catholic school.
“Round And Round”
Whoa! This is like a happy medium between “Baby” and “Lipstick”. Seriously. Maybe a little more dance than soul, but very cool. I really wasn’t expecting such a perfect synthesis of the two songs. That’s artistry. Nice key change. I like this chorus, it gets big is not afraid of being big. I dig this song a lot. Almost as if the Bee Gees had clinical depression and were digging their way out of it through song writing. Wait — was that what the BeeGees were doing?! Great chorus man! Give me that acapella ending. I’m in.
“Another Weekend”
Hmmm…acoustic guitars! Ariel Pink is throwing curve balls. Really pretty melody. This is taking me to a forest in England. We’re all trying to have fun and let things unfold but something is off. I hope the spell doesn’t break but it always does. The chorus is a trip! I think the phrasing is like 6/8 + 2/8. I’m really into things like that. It’s disorienting and then the pretty verse melody comes back and it’s so smooth; it enhances the smoothness by first throwing you around. Juxtaposing those two things is great. Like falling down the stairs onto a greased up slide. One minute your life is a complete racket and the next you feel like you’re back on track. Whatever that track is.
“Dayzed Inn Daydreams”
This is also a “dancing in the fields in England” type of track. Lots of strumming guitars. Ariel Pink does some cool key changes. Uses all the chords, allows the melody to snake. The chorus on this track is also big. Midway a rather abrupt change occurs, kind of a rock interlude, and things find their way back to the main chorus. The most interesting aspect though is that this song and “Lipstick” are from the same album, pom pom. I am going to have to check that out.
Overall Impression of Ariel Pink
I definitely anticipated some ’80s sounds but did not at all expect the heavy sixties influence. The word “playground” comes to mind, there’s plenty to listen for and explore. I’ll definitely check this out further. I like these songs and am very curious.
Do you have an artist I may have heard of but who’s music I’ve never heard? Let me know in the comments.
