When listening to “Mature Themes,” one can’t help (or at least this reviewer can’t help) but conjure up memories of “The Monster Mash,” as this album tends toward a sound that definitely captures the “freak pop” genre that the band likens itself to. Take one part oogy-boogy, two parts crude uncle and a dash of noise rock and you’ll get Ariel Pink in a nutshell. Does that make you scared to listen? Perhaps it should … in a good way, of course.

From the opening track, “Kinski Assassin,” Ariel Pink’s low, avant garde voice looms below the higher pitch of the very video game like plinks and spires of the music. While the lo-fi video game-esque sound carries through much of the album, tunes like “Mature Themes” and “Only In My Dreams” sound more like synthed-up KC and the Sunshine band, carrying an airy quality that allows the listener to get lost in reverie. Some tracks, like “Schnitzel Boogie,” are just silly and showcase the other side of the Ariel Pink coin: entertainment for the sake of entertaining. One surprising track is “Baby,” which presents itself as a slow jam rather than a fuzzy pop tune.

The great thing about Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti is that nothing is ever taken too seriously. The music is fun, it’s about sex, it’s funny, it’s reminiscent of those weird ‘70s TV shows, video games and, well, music, while still remaining very much so in the present.