Name: Before Today
Brand: Ariel Pink

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

CAD3X15

Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2014-07-07

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

PIAS

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

652637301519

Total Cap

1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

Ariel Pink

Genre GB

Alternative / Modern

Label GB

The influential 4AD label was started in 1980 by music enthusiasts Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent with financial help from Beggars Banquet, whose record store chain the pair worked for. Originally called Axis, they released an initial series of four 7" singles before finding out that the name Axis was already being used by another label. They quickly came up with a new name, 4AD, inspired by typography on a flyer announcing their releases. Under Ivo Watts-Russell's guidance, drawing influence from other UK indie labels such as Beggars Banquet, Postcard Records and Factory, 4AD quickly established a unique identity thanks to both the cover designs of Vaughan Oliver/v23 and the label's unique numbering system.

In 1992, 4AD entered a highly publicized Stateside distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records, opening offices in New York headed up by Robin Hurley. The label was largely run from California for most of the decade after Ivo Watts-Russell moved to Los Angeles in the mid-90s. In November 1999 it was announced that Martin Mills had taken over as chairman and relocated its HQ to London.

Decoding their unique numbering system reveals various formats like mail-order only releases (4AD), LPs (CAD), MP3 downloads (EAD), posters (FAD), videos (VAD) and more. The numeric portion of their catalog numbers

Ariel Marcus Rosenberg, better known as Ariel Pink, is a multi-talented artist born on June 24, 1978. He initially pursued visual art at the California Institute of the Arts but later shifted his focus to music.
With an extensive discography and unique musical style, Ariel Pink has established himself as a prominent figure in the music industry. His innovative approach to songwriting and production has garnered him critical acclaim and a dedicated fan base.
Throughout his career, Ariel Pink has continuously pushed boundaries and defied genre conventions. His eclectic sound combines elements of pop, rock, lo-fi, and psychedelia, resulting in a truly distinctive sonic experience that captivates listeners worldwide.

The peculiar lo-fi trash aesthetics and cassette-sampling songcraft of Ariel Pink have positioned him as the forefather of the chillwave scene and the direct antecedent of key 2010 artists like Washed Out, Small Black and Toro Y Moi. Somehow the Paw Tracks alumnus has become one of the most influential figures in today's underground music scene. However, as tends to be the way with pioneers, Mr Pink and his Haunted Graffiti pals stay one step ahead of the game on 4AD debut Before Today, switching to a live band sound that brilliantly channels soft rock sounds from a bygone era. From the relatively earnest Lindsey Buckingham-isms of 'Bright Lit Blue Skies' to the neon synth-core of 'Fright Night Nevermore' each song sounds like the work of a different band from the last, with only the odd, time-warped studio haze of the production to unite them. Take a listen to the leap between the FM-friendly falsetto funk of 'Beverly Kills' and the surreal, English accent-wielding heavy metal of 'Butt-House Blondies'. As triumphs of album sequencing go, Before Today is brilliantly perverse. The greatest triumph of all however, has to be 'Round And Round' - without doubt one of this year's finest pop songs. It's strangely engineered, structurally unsound and features one of the least convincing synth sax sounds of all time, and yet it's all somehow so perfect. The joyous looping chorus is one of the best things that's happened to this set of ears in a very long time, although however majestic it may be, there's really no getting around the fact that its essentially Deacon Blue's 'Fergus Sings The Blues'. I mean, it's virtually identical. There's a similar story to the almost as good 'Can't Hear My Eyes', which has a close run in (some might say head-on collision) with Journey's 'Who's Crying Now'. It's almost as if Ariel Pink has substituted his former production technique - of patching together frazzled '80s samples - for real-time, live-band imitation of his sources. It's a great trick to pull off, and the tone of both the songs and the production is judged to perfection, sounding far too alien to be dismissed as mere pastiche or homage. One of the year's weirdest and best pop long-players, Before Today comes with a mighty recommendation.

Before Today

Music GB

Buy Ariel Pink - Before Today (Vinyl, CD) now from Rough Trade - independent purveyors of great music, since 1976.