Mature Themes - Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
User Score
7.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 15 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 15
  3. Negative: 1 out of 15

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  1. InComputers
    Sep 4, 2012
    9
    On his first outing since 2010 breakthrough Before Today and first album of all new material in years, LA's Ariel Pink has proven himself a compelling songwriter currently carrying the outsider music torch once held by Captain Beefheart and Tom Waits. While not necessarily a breathtaking knockout like Before Today, Mature Themes is a fantastic work of art void of any dull moments. Even weaker tracks (not many here) are worth listening to based on interesting and at times bizarre songwriting and composition. High points include bookend tracks Kinski Assassin and Baby, single Only In My Dreams, the odd yet hard to forget Schnitzel Boogie, and the soft rock meets Elvis Costello pop gem title track.… Collapse

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 36 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 36
  3. Negative: 2 out of 36
  1. The Wire
    Oct 3, 2012
    80
    Ariel Pink's writing is completely scattergun, but this is what can make it so disarming. [Sep 2012, p.56]
  2. Dusted Magazine
    Sep 12, 2012
    80
    Listening to the album, the weirdness is never off-putting, and the pop elements don't feel like concessions to a wider audience.
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  3. Rolling Stone
    Sep 10, 2012
    70
    After years of weird-ass bedroom recordings, Ariel Pink has upgraded his operation, and what he loses in stoner burble, he gains in high-def Sixties flashback triggers.
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