Oh My Rockness

Ariel Pink is a reclusive artist whose bizarre, crudely homemade album found its way into the hands of the guys in Animal Collective. They liked it so much they signed Ariel to their label, Paw Tracks.

The sounds he creates out of his 8-track machine is completely indescribable... it's either whimsical or crazy, challenging or grating, genius or garbage. Whatever side you take, it's clear that Ariel's primitive noises are unsettling. Strange hisses, vocalizations, and layered sonic warbles consume the pop "melodies" buried far below the surface.

On his recent tour (with The Animal Collective), Ariel Pink received just as many jeers as he did cheers. I guess even for AC fans, Pink can be a little too much to take. But you definitely can't say you've heard this before. I couldn't reproduce sounds like this in my wildest nightmares.

Published 11/19/10