You may only get a shot at being truly angry in your life with few consequences and repercussions, but you had better take it. Responsibilities tend to rush in at some point, energy is less and can’t be wasted, and, worst of all, you may become part of the things that you were angry about in the first place. And that’s all if you’re lucky to be born in a country where you’re even allowed to share your opinions.
So, get angry and commit to it! But don’t be a jerk, eh?
However, anger can be expressed in many ways, including through music. You don’t need to buy a bike and start yelling about how you need to be free. You don’t need to get all your rich friends together and start an IDLES-worshipping group with lyrics about fish & chip shops and the government.
You can still be charming and confused while being angry about the world around you. You can still feel overwhelmed while hoping that a few songs or social media posts can change the world. Ariel My Friend’s “Other Things” is filled with anger. But it’s also colorful, quirky, and a little bit hopeful about what the Summer may bring.
If that may sound like a lot going on, it’s because it is. That’s what happens when you spend nine years on your own, working on blending various genres into songs. “Other Things” is nearly the “Smile” of the internet meme era. And, at nearly 80-minutes in length, it is nearly as dense in musical ideas. Just… really lo-fi.
But a chore it is not. “Reverse” sounds like someone having to go back in time and become a member of Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark while still equipped with a modern laptop and controller. The references to The Smiths’ greatest work should quickly earn the album a lot of support.
There’s more humor and distress brought on by love found and lost on songs like the symphonic lite of “Our Sorry Love Story” or the poppy, straightforward “Bad Times Sex.”
And if all of this doesn’t bring you on board, it should, at least, make you feel rather lazy. Ariel My Friend seems to have been releasing music since 2013. This is not, as you may expect, the work of a quirky creator who has just holed up in a rehearsal space for a decade doing nothing else.
Nah, the songwriter approaches this like it’s their “Pet Sounds” or their “White Album.” He has no desire to chop down songs to fit a format but hope to make them easy to enjoy just as well. Many of the songs here are over six minutes long, but if this is not quite prog-rock. It’s charming, angry pop music. Just lots of it.
“The Rest You Need” sounds like a lo-fi 80s-inspired, extended version of a radio single. “Chauvinist Bastard” contains a rap against people who enjoy dragging others down to their level. And “The Transgender Tailor Who Died in Saudi Custody” dares to switch styles every 30 seconds across its 9-minute run. The song moves from homemade hardcore punk to piano balladeering at the brink of an eye.
Where does it leave us? Perhaps thinking that the wealthier, better-known pop stars are simply not putting in an effort. Or, if you’d like to frame this in a more positive way, your next-door neighbor might be spending all their time designing a complex work of art.
“Other Things” is a vintage pop record. It’s been a while since musicians felt that they could do everything on their own for the sake of making art. Oscar Wilde would be confused but eventually smile a toothy grin.
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