As DFA Records’ latest uber-hyped phenom for
the ulta-hip crowd, the Shocking Pinks have a few months
worth of leaked mp3s, vinyl whispers and blogosphere
hysteria to live up to. And with their US debut culled
almost entirely from previous (import-only, but available
via Amazon and elsewhere) albums, this self-titled
disc could have easily been a warmed-over, disembodied
dud. But the Pinks’ tunes, even in a newly refashioned
form and orders, work like a sacred mixtape from the
most underground kid at the lunch table.
“Second Hand Girl” twirls ephemeral guitar (tremolo variations on
the Kevin Shields’ signature effected chords) into a throwaway garage rock
aesthetic to beatific effect. The No-Wave shudder of percussion-intensive “SmokeScreen” creeps
and cowers like a seedy alleyway chant of endless strung-out New York city nights. “This
Aching Deal” plays out like New Order confined to four-tracks and second-hand
guitars.
At other times the group plumbs the depths of fuzz-pop (“Emily”),
eerie piano dirges (“23”) and post-Velvets, post-Jesus and Mary Chain
distortion-prone acid folk (“You Can Make Me Feel Bad”).
Though the disc sometimes suffers from it’s hodge-podge thrown together
vibe, the Shocking Pinks’ sound is based around a series of disconnects
and dissonances, making aesthetic distance from track to track simply an amplification
of the group’s style. On the road-rash scorcher of “Blonde Haired
Girl,” Nick Harte’s calm collective voice seems to be oblivious to
the thrash noise bombast laying waste to the backing track: his vocal melody
becoming both disconcerting for it’s indifference and hypnotically beautiful.
Favorite Track: “This Aching Deal”
