Album Review : Secret Cities - Pink Graffiti
- Written by Andrew Seaton
The story of Secret Cities – formerly The White Foliage – needs to be understood to appreciate the complex character of Marie J. Parker and Charlie Gokay’s second album, Pink Graffiti. The North Dakotans met at band camp in 2001 and from there began to exchange cassette tapes across the state to further their shared love of psychedelia. Each would then add to the other’s work using a 4-track, layering on top of each other to produce the multi-faceted sound that is found in Pink Graffiti. The cassette tape mentality is at the core of this record.
The album’s theme is Brian Wilson, being used as a paradigm through which we view youthful things in the world. The aging Beach Boy is claimed to be both representative of the way in which our feelings become entwined with music but also of the fading nature of youth. Secret Cities see the emotions of youth as ever shifting and the manner in which the sound of Pink Graffiti similarly changes throughout is skillfully executed by the duo. The success of this album is the way in which it brings together seemingly disparate musical sources into a cohesive whole.
Take the brilliant opening track, ‘Pink City’, which in itself is an amalgamation of different sounds. Big drums pound throughout and the track ends with a synth blowout but it nonetheless manages to accommodate neat clapping and a plucked banjo in the chorus. Just when you think you know where the album is going the following song changes direction again. ‘Boyfriends’ is an attempt to imitate a 60s girl-band with cute whistling and harmonic vocals that Wilson himself would be proud of. It is the mimicking of Beach Boys harmonies that bring Secret Cities close to Grizzly Bear in places and fans of the latter will find a lot to enjoy in Pink Graffiti.
Standout tracks are the aforementioned first two songs but also ‘Slacker’; opening with beautiful piano that continues to chime along to the vocals and follows them to soaring heights in the chorus where a well-placed violin accompanies. ‘Color’ is another great song that has quick drums and a chorus that sees the Phil Spector girl group sound come out again. Throughout, Pink Graffiti has a ‘large’ sound, with ever-present big drums and vocals that climb to impressive heights. The album never feels cluttered though. It always manages to settle itself down, such as in the interlude track ‘Wander’, to a level that builds anticipation for the next track.
Pink Graffiti is a brilliant coalition of sound - a tour de force in how to bring together disparate sources such as psychedelic pop, lo-fi synth and 60s girl groups and craft them into a record that is sure to be one of the year’s finest.