Tristan Kneschke: Increasingly, directors are placing a layer of noise or grain over the top of their videos to simulate vintage film stocks. The absurd thing is that video hosting services will then compensate for the added noise when compressing the signal, often eliminating it. It’s unclear if that’s what’s happening on Ariel Pink’s “Another Weekend”, or if the director has inverted the stylistic cue by intentionally blurring the entire frame. The result emphasizes Pink’s latest bizarro creation, placing him inside a seedy Mexican lounge complete with his own backing band, the edges of objects frustratingly unclarified and murky. Believe it or not, it services the lyrics that pine about lost time on the weekends, which can ring true for many of us during the bacchanalian summer days. [7/10]
Chris Ingalls: There’s a timeless quality to this song as it clings to a psychedelic folk-pop aesthetic while updating it with plenty of weird sonic blips reminiscent of Flaming Lips. The trippy nature of the song never actually overtakes the general sunny vibe. It’s fun, harmless stuff, but you’ll be thinking about it long after it’s over. [8/10]
Paul Carr: “Another Weekend” is a swooning ’60s psychedelic pop delight. The mid-paced beat and the deceptively sunny melody transports the listener on a trippy wave to a beach in ’60s California. From nowhere the west coast folk vibe is rudely disrupted by warped, squelchy synths that sound like a double exposure from an entirely different song before settling back into a hazy groove. The chorus of “Another weekend out of my life / Is gonna get me into trouble” may read like the boasts of a rakish lothario. However, on closer inspection, there is a noticeable air of resignation that suggests someone stuck in a self-perpetuating loop that they are struggling to escape. [7/10]
Ian Rushbury: “Another Weekend” starts off like Al Stewart went almost disco, but then there’s an unsteady lurch between the verse and chorus as if two different songs have crashed together and have to drive to the body shop, still intertwined. Throw in a selection of analog synth squelch tones, and you’ve got yourself a hit. I’d still consider separating those two tunes — one of them might survive. [6/10]
Kevin Korber: There are two sides to Ariel Pink that will never be resolved. He is alternately a kitschy prankster fond of lewd turns of phrase and off-kilter jokes and a sincere, warm-hearted singer/songwriter with a firm grasp on his emotions and failings as a person. “Another Weekend” leans more towards the latter camp, more in the vein of “Round and Round” and “Put Your Number in My Phone” than “Sexual Athletics” or “Butt-House Blondies”. There’s slightly more of an emotional distance here accentuated by the atypical song structure. At its best, though, “Another Weekend” is a haunting piece of work, and the textures it creates recall the mood and darkness that Pure X created on their early albums. It’s still singularly weird and emotional in a way that only Ariel Pink could achieve, though. [7/10]
Spyros Stasis: I am getting slightly worried for Ariel Pink after listening to his new track. Where is the grandiose, schizoid style, the over the top performance, the kitsch aesthetic? The synth-pop, psychedelic glam rock galore has subsided, and Ariel Pink retains mostly a trippy characteristic, going into a mellow mode in “Another Weekend”. Even structure-wise the track is simpler compared to anything from pom pom, with the catchy chorus proving unnerving. It is a strange first glimpse into his upcoming work, and it will be interesting to see whether this is a ploy by Pink, acting as a diversion, or that we are going to see a very different side of the artist. [6/10]
Adriane Pontecorvo: “Another Weekend” is so low-key that it’s easy to write it off as background music. A closer listen, though, reveals layers of expert craftsmanship. It takes a careful hand to make this many changes in time signature go smoothly — and they do, weaving together a coolly emotional tune. It’s steady, never dragging, and the chorus stealthily worms its way into the mind, so subdued that you won’t realize how catchy it is until it’s too late to stop it. No explosions here, just good, solid music. [7/10]
Chris Thiessen: This first single off Dedicated to Bobby Jameson finds Ariel Pink experimenting with a more acoustic dream pop sound than describes most of his discography. The song hypnotizes with the juxtaposition between the chorus in which Pink marches through another weekend and the swaying verses spent reminiscing on the happier times gone by. The transitions feel a little clunky, but all in all, a good track. [6/10]
Mike Schiller: “Another Weekend” is odd for Ariel Pink in that it’s hardly odd at all. This is fairly straight-laced dream-pop, a verse-chorus-verse song whose morose lyrics belie the upbeat melodies. It shouldn’t be a surprise that Ariel Pink can pull this off given his obvious musical chops that manifest when he gets weird, but the fact that he doesn’t show this side of himself that often heightens the impact. [7/10]
SCORE: 6.78