8. Ariel PinkBefore Today
In 2010, when this came out, I’d moved from Los Angeles to London, and I was sharing a warehouse space with The Quietus, and Factory Floor – basically, they took me in. It was a nice time in my life. It was kind of a time when I needed a bit of repair work, and this album was the soundtrack.
There’s moments, especially on side two, that are disconcerting – intensity builds, lots happens in a short space of time, it’s got a jarring-ness. It’s on the verge of being erratic, but actually it’s done in a very concise way; it made other records at the time seem boring. Maybe it’s somewhere between Frank Zappa and Prefab Sprout – extended musicality, incredible pop nuances and sensibility, but there’s a humour there too.
Like the Prefab Sprout one, Ariel’s Twitter Listening Party was a highlight. Tim Koh said “Ariel’s influenced a lot of music, and most of it’s really bad.” [Laughs] I thought it was hilarious.
