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- Summary: Los Angeles-based Ariel Pink releases his first album on the 4AD label.
- Record Label: 4AD
- Genre(s): Indie, Rock, Experimental
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 24 out of 25
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Mixed: 1 out of 25
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Negative: 0 out of 25
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He’s no slouch in his endless catalogue of exhumed pop tropes, and here he treats radio pop’s past with the all-encompassing vagueness of its title.
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Before Today is the best collection of pure pop songs released this year, and the experimental odds and bits only add to its considerable charm.
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FilterWith Before Today, Pink achieves congruence in the album's construction, but does so without sacrificing his peculiar flair. [Spring/Summer 2010, p.104]
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Even better is “Round and Round,’’ with its jagged interludes and echoes of Arthur Russell. A metaphor for life as a merry-go-round, the song eventually comes into focus and ramps up into a wild roller-coaster ride. The same could be said of this exhilarating album.
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Before Today is another fun Ariel Pink pop/rock record, more solidly constructed than any of his past efforts. Even more importantly, it’s also more joyously musical than most full-lengths that have been coming out in recent years, aware not of self and scene but only of the fact that music is fun and feels good.
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Before Today, while easily his best album to date, still feels like it's just the tip of the iceberg for this staggeringly talented songwriter.
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No longer the challenging, lo-fi music of yore, what has arrived in its place doesn't have the individuality or character to sustain longer lasting interest.
Score distribution:
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Positive: 8 out of 9
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Mixed: 1 out of 9
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Negative: 0 out of 9
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Nov 3, 2010
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Aug 10, 2015
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Dec 13, 2020This album is the reason why i'm obsessed with ariel pink it's so good and one of the best albums of all time with no doubt
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Sep 10, 2010
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Jul 9, 2011
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Nov 29, 2021
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Nov 22, 2010
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