Ariel Pink’s Haunted ‎– Before Today

Before Today (2010) marked Ariel Pink’s leap from lo-fi cult figure to indie pop auteur. Credited to Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti and released on 4AD, it was his first studio album with a full band and professional production. The record blends hypnagogic pop, glam, and psychedelic rock, channeling warped nostalgia through tracks like “Round and Round,” hailed by Pitchfork as the best song of 2010. Covers like “Bright Lit Blue Skies” and nods to vintage pop culture infuse the album with eerie familiarity. Sunny Levine and Vas Deferens Organization helped shape its surreal sheen. Before Today is both a pastiche and a reinvention—Pink’s outsider sensibility polished but not diluted, yielding a strange, shimmering triumph.