Pom pom (album)

pom pom
Studio album by Ariel Pink
Released November 17, 2014 (2014-11-17)[1]
Genre
Length 67:03
Label 4AD
Producer Ariel Pink
Ariel Pink chronology
Early Live Recordings
(2013)		 pom pom
(2014)
Singles from pom pom
  1. "Put Your Number in My Phone"
    Released: August 9, 2014[5]

pom pom is an album by American singer-songwriter Ariel Pink, which was released on November 17, 2014 by 4AD. It is his first full studio album credited solely as Ariel Pink and without the Haunted Graffiti moniker.

Background

The songs "Jell-O," "Plastic Raincoats In The Pig Parade," "Sexual Athletics," "Exile On Frog Street" and "Nude Beach A Go-Go" were co-written by Kim Fowley, from his hospital bed for Ariel to perform.[6] The album also features vocal contributions from French singer-songwriter Soko; Pink returned the favor by co-writing and guesting on two tracks off Soko's second studio album, My Dreams Dictate My Reality (2015).[7] The track "Nude Beach a Go-Go" was also recorded by American rapper Azealia Banks. A version of the song, produced by Pink, appears on her debut album Broke With Expensive Taste (2014).[8]

The track "Put Your Number in My Phone" was released as the first single off the album on August 9, 2014.[5] The music video for the track was released in September 2014.[9] The music videos for the tracks "Picture Me Gone" and "Dayzed inn Daydreams", both directed by Grant Singer, were released on November 4, 2014 and January 26, 2015, respectively.[10][11] The latter video stars the Mau-Mau's frontman Rick Wilder.[11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[13]
The A.V. ClubB+[6]
Consequence of SoundB[14]
The Guardian[15]
NME8/10[16]
The Observer[17]
Paste6.9/10[18]
Pitchfork Media8.8/10[19]
PopMatters8/10[20]
Spin8/10[21]
Drowned In Sound8/10[22]

Upon its release, pom pom was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 75 based on 28 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[12] AllMusic critic Heather Phares thought that "the way Pink zigs and zags on Pom Pom can be dazzling or confusing depending on listeners' patience," further adding that "in its own way it's one of the best representations of what makes his music fascinating and occasionally frustrating."[13] John Everhart of The A.V. Club stated that the album "feels at times more like a singles collection than a cohesive album, which isn’t to its detriment."[6] Consequence of Sound critic Dean Essner wrote that "it’s discernible and then, suddenly, it’s not. But the surreal, visceral experience in itself is where the fun lies."[14] Giuseppe Zevolli of Drowned in Sound wrote: "It is very easy to get lost in this record, but there is a miraculous balance that holds everything together."[23]

Louis Pattison of NME stated that the album is "funny, melancholy, randy, touching, disgusting and deeply, deeply strange," adding that "it has the feel of a magnum opus."[16] Paste critic Philip Cosores described the album as "probably the most accessible, easy-on-the-ear and enjoyable music of his career, without any asterisks."[18] Pitchfork critic Jeff Weiss praised the album, which received a "Best New Music" rating on the website, writing: "The campy flair, smirking irony, and deliberately "retrolicious" alliteration matches the scarecrow-genius of the album."[19] Zachary Houle of PopMatters thought that the album is "gorgeous and silly – sometimes both at the same time."[20] Colin Joyce of Spin described pom pom as "a record that's as full of unforgettably kaleidoscopic melodies as it is surreal shoutouts to Dolly Parton and Kurt Cobain--pom pom is just about as beautiful of a mess as Pink himself."[21]

Nevertheless, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian criticized the album, writing that "it sounds like pop music made by someone who feels pop music is beneath him, deliberately crowding out his obvious abilities with stupid voices and noises."[15] Kitty Empire of The Observer thought that "the unevenness of Pom Pom is a stumbling block, even allowing leeway for lysergic non-linearity."[17]

Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Plastic Raincoats in the Pig Parade"   3:30
2. "White Freckles"   2:46
3. "Four Shadows"   3:40
4. "Lipstick"   3:22
5. "Not Enough Violence"   6:06
6. "Put Your Number in My Phone"   2:54
7. "One Summer Night"   3:55
8. "Nude Beach a Go-Go"   2:20
9. "Goth Bomb"   2:43
10. "Dinosaur Carebears"   5:25
11. "Negativ Ed"   3:19
12. "Sexual Athletics"   4:04
13. "Jell-o"   2:03
14. "Black Ballerina"   5:52
15. "Picture Me Gone"   5:41
16. "Exile on Frog Street"   4:48
17. "Dayzed Inn Daydreams"   4:54
Total length:
 68:00

Personnel

Chart positions

Charts (2014) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[24] 150
US Billboard Alternative Albums[25] 20
US Billboard Heatseekers[26] 2
US Billboard Independent Albums[27] 18
US Billboard Top Rock Albums[28] 31
US Billboard Tastemaker Albums[29] 12

References

  1. ↑ "pom pom by Ariel Pink". 4AD. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  2. ↑ Rodriguez, Juan Edgardo (November 17, 2014). "Ariel Pink - pom pom". No Ripcord. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  3. ↑ Parnes-Katz, Arielle (November 20, 2014). "Ariel Pink - pom pom". CMJ. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  4. ↑ Williams, Holly (September 12, 2014). "Ariel Pink Loses Haunted Graffiti Moniker For New Solo Album 'Pom Pom'". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  5. 1 2 "ARIEL PINK RETURNS WITH NEW ALBUM 'POM POM', LISTEN TO FIRST TRACK". 4AD. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Everhart, John (November 18, 2014). "Ariel Pink gets help from his friends on Pom Pom". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  7. ↑ White, Caitlin (24 February 2015). "Stream Soko's My Dreams Dictate My Reality (Stereogum Premiere)". Stereogum. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  8. ↑ Gordon, Jeremy (November 6, 2014). "Surprise: Azealia Banks' Long Delayed Broke With Expensive Taste Is Out Now". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  9. ↑ Minsker, Evan (September 22, 2014). "Ariel Pink Pushes a Man in a Wheelchair Around a Mall in His "Put Your Number in My Phone" Video". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Ariel Pink Shares Creepy "Picture Me Gone" Video". Pitchfork Media. November 4, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  11. 1 2 Gordon, Jeremy (January 26, 2015). "Ariel Pink Shares "Dayzed Inn Daydreams" Video". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Pom Pom – Ariel Pink". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  13. 1 2 Phares, Heather. "Pom Pom – Ariel Pink". Allmusic. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  14. 1 2 Essner, Dean (November 18, 2014). "Ariel Pink – pom pom". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  15. 1 2 Petridis, Alexis (November 13, 2014). "Ariel Pink: Pom Pom review – pop music by someone who thinks it's beneath him". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  16. 1 2 Pattison, Louis (November 17, 2014). "Ariel Pink – 'Pom Pom'". NME. Inspire. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  17. 1 2 Empire, Kitty (November 16, 2014). "Ariel Pink: Pom Pom review – the interplay of cute and sordid is a constant". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  18. 1 2 Cosores, Philip (November 18, 2014). "Ariel Pink: pom pom Review". Paste. Wolfgang's Vault. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  19. 1 2 Weiss, Jeff (November 18, 2014). "Ariel Pink: Pom Pom". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
  20. 1 2 Houle, Zachary (November 18, 2014). "Ariel Pink: pom pom". Popmatters. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  21. 1 2 Joyce, Colin (November 18, 2014). "Review: Ariel Pink Makes Another Wondrous Mess With 'pom pom'". Spin. SpinMedia. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  22. ↑ Zevolli, Giuseppe (November 17, 2014). "Ariel Pink: pom pom". Drowned In Sound. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  23. ↑ Zevolli, Giuseppe (November 12, 2014). "Album Review: Ariel Pink - pom pom". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  24. ↑ "Ariel Pink- Billboard 200 chart". Billboard. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Deafheaven - Alternative Albums chart". Billboard. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Ariel Pink - Heatseekers chart". Billboard. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Ariel Pink - Independent Albums chart". Billboard. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Ariel Pink - Top Rock Albums chart". Billboard. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Ariel Pink - Tastemaker Albums chart". Billboard. Retrieved March 27, 2015.

External links

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