Staff Reviews

Secret Cities - Pink Grafitti

Review by Paul Stephen Gettings

While being pleasant and listenable enough, Pink Graffiti simply doesn't do enough to set itself apart from the post-chill-glo-surf-wave-fi trend, which is ultimately its downfall. Here we have a record that is competent, often beautiful, but sadly, fundamentally unremarkable. »

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not so much a concept album as a meditation on a theme, graffiti tapes is (mostly) about brian wilson and young people. inspired by a college thesis, changing relationships, and a fateful meeting with the aging once-spokesperson for vibrant youth, pink graffiti is a record that uses one artist to anchor and explore a peculiar set of experiences, thoughts and emotions. by drawing on fractured psych, girl groups and minimalist composers, secret cities have conjured a kaleidoscopic, strangely moving whole out of disparate pieces. distorted loops, drones, and thundering toms underpin distant voices. pianos are pounded. grainy acoustic guitars come through like am transmissions received deep underground. but even as strange sounds and frequencies get pushed out front, the melodies, always and forever, get top billing.
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