Album review: ‘Mature Themes’ by Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti

“Mature Themes”

(4AD)

*** 1/2 stars

In rock ‘n’ roll history there have existed lines in the sand: Polarizing musical thresholds beyond which your average listener will not step. Bob Dylan’s baffling “Self Portrait,” for example, or Lil Wayne’s rock album “Rebirth.” Captain Beefheart and/or Frank Zappa.

The work of 34-year-old Los Angeles singer, songwriter, band leader and memory-bending artist Ariel Pink and his band Haunted Graffiti is one such line, as evidenced by some of the songs on his wonderfully baffling new album, “Mature Themes.” On paper, it’s hard to explain the allure of L.A. discordant new wave boogies about sausages (“Schnitzel Boogie”), or the sheer ridiculous joy of “Symphony of the Nymphs,” a ditty about a nymphomaniac lesbian at a discotheque and a man named Dr. Mario. And therein lies the threshold. I consider his body of work to be a musical thought experiment on a grand scale, and I’m always excited to hear where he’s taking it. But it’s a tough first few listens.

On “Mature Themes,” Pink (born Ariel Rosenberg) and his ever-tightening band Haunted Graffiti travel even further from the here-and-now and end up lost in a mystical virtual world -- music for a shag-carpeted fantasy about 1970s soft rock, or a vision of future 1982 as envisioned by a sci-fi writer in 1962. Weird time signatures abound. “Early Birds of Babylon” swirls around like a skipping prog-rock LP during a particularly tasty rhythm break. “Live It Up” sounds like a jingle for an imaginary late 1960s airline commercial. Dare you cross the line? Depends on your tolerance for music that can frustrate and confuse as often as can give joy.