“Pom Pom” isn’t like anything you’ve heard before, but I suppose you could say that about most Ariel Pink releases to date . The singer/songwriter has navigated away from a lovably lo-fi approach – built on vintage synths and percussive beat into one more representative of a full band with his “Haunted Graffiti” group. While “Before Today” and “Mature Themes” were still great records, I couldn’t help but feel that some tracks were a bit too polished , at least in the sense that shimmering production made Ariel Pink stifle his wonderful audible personality more so than earlier releases. With “Pom Pom”, his first release under just the Ariel Pink name, he goes full Zappa and Todd Rundgren with the double-album approach, resulting in an enjoyably indulgent release that has its share of immediate pop genius alongside large doses of experimental personality, the latter most apparent in the album’s mid-section. The beginnings are quite accessible, though. “Plastic Raincoats” touts an organ-y psych-pop feel reminiscent of The Kinks, while “White Freckles” is a concisely combustible piece of driven power-pop that takes full advantage of Ariel’s various vocal characters. “Four Shadows” is a goth-rock/post-punk homage that utilizes the darkly orchestral Zappa production Ariel Pink is so fond of throughout the album. One of the year’s best tracks, “Not Enough Violence” explores this post-punk territory in even more depth, being a build-up of epic proportions that serves as one of 2014’s greatest tracks. While the album’s middle can sound intimidating and somewhat overbearing, later efforts like the irresistibly infectious “Black Ballerina” and harmonizing-friendly pop gem “Dayzed Inn Daydreams” which is a wonderful title, close this mad genius of an album in stellar form. Pom Pom is the year’s most fascinating listening experience.
The Fat Angel Sings 