I Knew That He Was A Tiger Right From The Start

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti “Jules Lost His Jewels” – I’ll be the first to state the obvious: Ariel Pink’s Worn Copy is like the second coming of Guided By Voices’ Bee Thousand in both style and substance. This is to say, the album is a collage of muddy, lo-fi recordings of songs which sound like familiar, out-of-time rock classics. It’s like an old found mixed tape with serious water damage and some dodgy dubbing. As with Bee Thousand and its follow-up, Alien Lanes, the stylistic decision to hide beautifully crafted pop tunes behind a contrived patina of age and wear works for the songs, which would otherwise sound quite retro either way. The attention to detail in recording the songs is spot-on – specific vintage sounds and antiquated electronic textures are captured perfectly, making the record seem at times like the musical equivalent of meticulously crafted replica of a ship inside of a bottle. Deliberately making the music sound old and evocative of weak radio signals and homemade casettes maximizes the warm and fuzzy faux-nostalgia effect, and makes the record as much about the tunes as it is about paying tribute to the experience of being a listener/fan. (Click here to buy it from Other Music.)

Guided By Voices “Sleep Over Jack” – Speaking of GBV, I feel that my original review of Half-Smiles Of The Decomposed was too hasty and poorly considered. After having spent some time with the record, I have come around to its charms. This comes as no surprise to me given that almost everything Robert Pollard does takes a bit of time to sink in, which is why his catalog is so dense and difficult in spite of being quite catchy and straightforward most of the time. At least half of my favorite Pollard compositions snuck up on me after I had intitially written them off, leaving me to wonder from then on how I had ever missed something which is now so obvious. As it turns out, Half-Smiles is one of his best records, with a ‘side a’ which rivals Bee Thousand and Speak Kindly Of Your Volunteer Fire Department for consistency and general greatness.

“Sleep Over Jack” is the highlight of the album, and one of the finest songs of Pollard’s career. It’s a sleepy, creepy art rock tune realized with a level of craft that incorporates the studio sheen of post-Mag Earwhig GBV and the adventurous DIY approach to texture and detail of the band’s early 90s heyday. The song skitters along with its jittery, spidering guitar lines and a tense backbeat, building up an eerie tension which finally breaks as Pollard cathartically screams “I know!,” entering the mix as though someone had accidentally switched on a tape deck. (Click here to pre-order it from Matador Records.)